Jit 


This  book  is  loaned  to  the  guest  of  the  hotel. 
Kindly  receipt  for  the  same  when  borrowed 
and  return  same  to  the  clerk  of  the  hotel  when 
through  with  it  before  leaving. 


.  •  • 

•> 


>o: 


WNIV.  OF  CALIF.  LIBRARY.  LOS  ANGELES 


"  MY  BACK  AGAINST  THE  DOOR,  MY  HAND  ON   MY  REVOLVER."—  Page  94. 


IN  THE  CAUSE 
OF    FREEDOM 


BY 

ARTHUR  W.  MARCHMONT 

AUTHOR  OF 

"BY  WIT  OF  WOMAN,"  "THE  QUEEN'S  ADVOCATE,' 
"A  COURIER  OF  FORTUNE,"  ETC. 

With  a  frontispiece  in  colours  by 

ARCHIE  GUNN 


NEW  YORK 
FREDERICK   A.  STOKES  COMPANY 

PUBLISHERS 


COPYRIGHT,  1907,  BY 

ARTHUR  W.   MARCHMONT 

APRIL,  1907 

All  Right  i  Rtstrvtd 


CONTENTS 

CHAPTER 

I.  A  CHANCE  MEETING    ,:       M  M  ,. 

II.  ON  THE  DEVIL'S  STAIRCASE  .1  ,.,  ,.<  14 

III.  VOLNA  DRAKONA        .         .,  (.i  M  25 

IV.  A  HORSEDEALING  TRANSACTION  >-'  r.  37 

V.  AT  PULTA           .        -.;        M  ,.-  t.  49 

VI.  VERY  SISTERLY   .        M       •..,  M  r.:  59 

VII.  THE  LUCK  TURNS      .        r.-  w  :.  69 

VIII.  WHAT  HAPPENED  IN  THE  COTTAGE  .  82 

IX.  A  VERY  TIGHT  CORNER        -.-.  >.  >  93 

X.  THE  HAG  TO  THE  RESCUE  :.;  ..  103 

XL  FATHER  AMBROSE        .•        >i  M  r.-  115 

XII.  "  SHE  is  BETROTHED  "          -.-  -.-  r.-  125 

XIII.  VOLNA  is  A  LITTLE  REFRACTORY  .  t..  135 

XIV.  THE  ARREST       .  >  145 
XV.  A  TASTE  OF  PRISON  LIFE     .  r..  •••  158 

XVI.    I  GET  A  BlT  OF  MY  OWN  BACK  .  .169 

XVII.  "Do  YOU  LOVE  VOLNA  DRAKONA?"  .  181 

XVIII.  FOR  FRIENDSHIP'S  SAKE        ..  w  .  190 

Y 


2133778 


vi  CONTENTS 

CHAPTER  PAGE 

XIX.  TURNING  THE  SCREW       .         .  .     200 

XX.  DEFIANCE         .         .         .         .  .212 

XXI.  A  BLANK  OUTLOOK           .         .  .     223 

XXII.  POLICE  METHODS       .         .         .  .     234 

XXIII.  SPY  WORK        .         .         .         .  .     245 

XXIV.  BLACK  MONDAY  IN  WARSAW      .  .     254 
XXV.  No.  17,  THE  PLACE  OF  ST.  JOHN  .     262 

XXVI.  THE  TABLES  TURNED       .         .  ,271 

XXVII.  THE  PLAN  PROSPERS         .         .  .280 

XXVIII.  FLIGHT    .....  ,;    289 

XXIX.  IN  THE  STREET  OF  ST.  GREGORY  .     298 

XXX.  AFTER  THE  STORM    ....     308 


CHAPTER  I 


"  "T\O  you  mean  to  take  me  for  a  spy?  " 

•*— *  I  had  hard  work  to  prevent  myself  laugh- 
ing at  the  man  to  his  face ;  and  it  is  no  light  matter 
to  laugh  at  these  self-satisfied,  bullying  officials 
in  Russian  Poland.  Some  of  them  have  too  much 
power. 

"  Do  I  understand  that  you  refuse  to  answer  my 
questions  and  shew  me  your  papers  ?  " 

"  And  what  if  I  do  ? "  He  had  burst  into  my 
room  in  the  little  inn  at  Bratinsk  as  I  sat  reading 
my  paper  over  a  cigar,  and  without  any  preface 
had  fired  his  questions  at  me  with  the  peremptory 
incivility  of  the  average  police  agent.  My  temper 
had  taken  the  intrusion  badly. 

He  shrugged  his  shoulders  and  raised  his  eye- 
brows. "  I  am  a  police  agent  from  Warsaw  and 
must  know  your  business  in  Bratinsk." 

At  that  I  saw  light.  I  recalled  a  paragraph  I 
had  just  read  in  the  Warsaw  paper.  I  pointed  to 
it.  "  Is  this  the  key  to  your  visit  ?  " 

"  Ah,  you  have  read  it,"  he  replied  with  that  of- 
fensive manner  in  which  these  people  always  con- 
trive to  imply  that  everything  you  say  or  do  is  a 
matter  of  suspicion. 

"  I'll  read  it  again  now  with  more  interest,"  said 


4       IN  THE  CAUSE  OF  FREEDOM 

I.  I  did  so  very  deliberately,  to  gain  time  to  cool 
my  temper  and  see  how  it  could  possibly  affect  me. 

"  We  are  in  a  position  to  state  that  a  raid  was 
made  two  nights  ago  upon  a  house  in  the  Kron- 
platz,  which  has  long  been  suspected  to  be  the  War- 
saw headquarters  of  a  branch  of  the  dangerous 
patriotic  society  known  as  the  '  P.F.F.'  (Polish 
Freedom  Fraternity).  The  house  was  deserted  at 
the  time,  but  important  papers  were  found  which 
revealed  the  existence  of  a  conspiracy  of  wide  and 
far-reaching  extent.  The  complete  break-up  of  the 
powerful  organization  of  the  Freedom  Fraternity 
is  likely  to  be  the  result  of  the  raid,  and  several  well- 
known  patriots  are  said  to  be  implicated  by  the 
discoveries.  Among  the  names  rumoured  is  that  of 
Count  Peter  Valdemar,  once  well  known  as  the 
*  Stormy  Petrel '  of  Polish  politics." 

"  Do  you  take  me  for  Count  Peter  Valdemar  ?  " 
I  asked. 

"  I  did  not  come  here  to  be  fooled,"  was  the  an- 
gry reply.  "  If  you  will  not  comply  with  my  de- 
mands, you  must  accompany  me  to  Warsaw." 

I  saw  the  prudence  of  not  angering  him.  "  I  am 
Robert  Anstruther,  an  Englishman,  and  have  been 
here  about  three  weeks,  shooting  over  the  estate 
of  my  friend,  Count  Ladislas  Tuleski." 

"  Your  passport  ?  " 

"  Here  it  is.  You  have  a  very  unpleasant  man- 
ner," I  could  not  help  adding,  as  I  took  out  my 
pocket  book.  By  a  curious  chance  I  had  three  pass- 
ports; my  own  and  that  of  my  chum,  Robert  Gar- 


A  CHANCE  MEETING  5 

rett  and  his  sister,  Margaret.  They  were  to  have 
come  out  with  me  on  their  way  to  Turkey,  but  had 
been  prevented  at  the  last  moment.  I  picked  mine 
out  and  handed  it  to  him.  "  It's  properly  vised, 
you'll  see." 

He  assumed  a  very  profound  air  as  he  read  it. 
"  You  speak  Polish  very  well  for  an  Englishman," 
he  said. 

"  I  speak  also  German  and  French,  and  some 
Russian." 

"  You  have  no  trace  of  the  vile  English  accent." 

"Is  that  meant  for  a  compliment?"  I  asked 
lightly.  It  was  no  use  to  get  angry  again. 

"  And  you  are  a  friend  of  Count  Ladislas  Tule- 
ski  ?  You  are,  no  doubt,  aware  that  he  is  a  suspect." 

I  smiled  as  I  thought  of  my  friend's  airy  impul- 
siveness and  almost  butterfly  repudiation  of  respon- 
sibility. "  I  am  surprised  he  should  be  suspected 
of  doing  anything  seriously." 

"  He  is,"  was  the  snappy  reply.  "  And  his 
friends  are  naturally  objects  of  interest  just  now. 
Where  is  he?" 

"  I  don't  know.    I  heard  of  him  last  in  London." 

"  And  you  are  from  London  ?  It  is  at  least  a 
coincidence.  Do  you  know  Count  Peter  Valde- 
mar?" 

"  I  believe  I  met  him  once."  I  remembered  that 
I  had  seen  him  at  my  friend's  hotel  in  London. 

"  Another  coincidence,"  he  returned  drily.  There 
was  a  pause  during  which  he  regarded  me  fixedly, 
pretty  much  as  though  I  were  a  criminal.  "You 


6        IN  THE  CAUSE  OF  FREEDOM 

would  perhaps,  like  to  shew  me  all  your  papers,  to 
satisfy  me  of  the  truth  of  your  story." 

That  was  what  an  American  would  call  "  the 
limit." 

I  got  up  and  opened  the  door.  "  I  have  told  you 
the  truth  and  I  don't  allow  any  man  to  question 
my  word.  You'd  better  go  before  I  lose  my  tem- 
per." 

I  stood  six  feet  without  bootheels;  I  had  been 
the  heaviest  number  five  in  my  college  eight  that 
Corpus  had  had  for  years;  and  was  in  the  pink  of 
condition.  He  saw  that  I  meant  business  and  rose. 

"  I  don't  question  your  word,"  he  began. 

"  Are  you  going  ?  " 

He  went  out  into  the  corridor.  "  We  shall  prob- 
ably require  you  to  come  to  Warsaw." 

"  If  you  wish  to  arrest  me  do  it,  and  be  hanged 
to  you." 

"  You  mustn't  talk  like  that,  and  had  better  leave 
Bratinsk.  So  long  as  you  stay  here  you  will  be 
under  surveillance — "  the  rest  of  his  sentence  was 
lost,  for  I  slammed  the  door  in  his  face. 

The  attempt  at  any  kind  of  surveillance  over  my 
movements  would  drive  me  out  of  Bratinsk  like  a 
shot;  and  I  should  have  been  much  more  annoyed 
by  the  incident  but  for  the  fact  that  I  had  been 
daily  expecting  my  visit  to  be  brought  to  a  close 
by  the  weather.  I  had  been  very  lucky  to  hit  such 
an  open  season;  but  it  was  late  in  December,  and 
the  snow  was  so  long  overdue  that  by  leaving  at 
once  I  should  miss  very  little  sport. 


A  CHANCE  MEETING  7 

I  determined  to  go,  therefore.  I  had  a  pig- 
sticking fixed  for  the  following  day ;  and  that  should 
be  the  last. 

It  was  not  at  all  unlikely,  too,  that  Warsaw  would 
afford  me  some  excitement.  The  papers  were  full 
of  hints  about  impending  troubles  from  the  strikers 
and  revolutionary  party,  consequent  upon  the  om- 
inous unrest  in  St.  Petersburg;  and  I  settled  that 
I  might  as  well  go  there  for  a  couple  of  days  to  see 
the  fun,  and  then  rush  home  for  Christmas. 

With  this  plan  in  my  thoughts  I  strolled  up  to 
the  railway  station  to  see  about  trains. 

As  I  reached  the  building  the  stationmaster,  a 
very  busy  little  official,  named  Blauben,  came  run- 
ning up  to  me. 

"  Ah,  mister,  mister," — he  knew  this  one  word 
of  English  and  thought  it  the  correct  way  to  ad- 
dress an  Englishman — "  you  can  do  me  a  service. 
I  beg  of  you.  I  am  in  sore  perplexity." 

"What  is  the  matter?" 

"  A  country-woman  of  yours.  She  sets  me  at 
defiance  and  does  not  understand  a  word  I  say. 
The  last  train  for  three  hours  has  gone  and  the 
law  is  that  I  shut  the  station.  She  will  not  go 
out." 

"  Do  you  want  me  to  put  her  out  for  you?  " 

"  No,  no ;  you  can  explain  to  her  that  the  law 
requires  the  station  to  be  shut  now;  and  they  are 
very  strict  because  of  this  last  conspiracy  they  have 
discovered.  No  one  is  allowed  to  remain,  mister. 
Besides,  my  wife  is  waiting  for  me;  and  you  know 


8        IN  THE  CAUSE  OF  FREEDOM 

her.  She  is  not  patient  when  the  dinner  is  kept 
waiting.  Ah,  mister?" 

"Where  is  she?" 

I  pictured  to  myself  a  typical  strong-minded 
British  matron,  or  spinster,  stern  of  feature,  sturdy 
of  will,  Baedeker  in  hand,  insistent  upon  her  rights, 
and  holding  the  station  grimly  against  the  chatter- 
ing officious  little  Pole;  and  I  looked  for  some  fun. 
But,  instead,  he  led  me  up  to  a  girl,  who  contra- 
dicted in  every  particular  my  anticipation.  She  was 
some  twenty  years  of  age,  well-dressed  and  as  pretty 
as  a  painting ;  straight,  regular  features,  flaxen  hair 
and  blue  eyes;  glorious  eyes  meant  for  laughter, 
but  now  clouded  with  trouble  and  nervous  agita- 
tion. A  picture  of  pale,  shrinking  misery  that  went 
straight  to  my  heart. 

"  Here  is  an  English  mister  who  will  explain," 
said  the  stationmaster  with  elaborate  gesture. 

I  raised  my  hat  and  as  she  glanced  at  me,  the 
colour  flushed  into  her  cheeks  and  her  large  eyes 
seemed  to  dilate  with  a  new  fear  connected  with 
my  presence.  In  a  moment  it  flashed  into  my 
thoughts  that  she  had  understood  him  quite  well. 

"  The  station  master  tells  me  you  are  a  country- 
woman of  mine,"  I  said  in  English ;  "  and  has  asked 
me  to  explain  that  the  station  is  to  be  closed  now." 

There  was  a  pause,  her  look  one  of  blank  dismay. 
She  bit  her  lip  and  then  stammered  slowly  with  a 
rich  foreign  accent,  "  Zank  you,  sir ;  I  cannot  go. 
I  wait  for  ze  train  and  zomeone." 

I  accepted  this  as  though  it  were  the  purest  Eng- 


A  CHANCE  MEETING  9 

lish  and  gave  a  free  translation  of  it  to  the  station 
master.  But  he  was  bluntness  itself.  His  wife 
was  waiting  for  him,  and  he  had  the  law  on  his 
side. 

I  turned  to  the  girl  again  and  said,  trying  Ger- 
man this  time :  "  They  have  curious  laws  in  this 
country,  and  one  of  them  requires  the  station  to  be 
closed." 

Her  face  lighted  with  unmistakable  relief  and  she 
answered  in  the  same  language :  "  My  servant  has 
gone  to  make  some  arrangements,  I  only  wish  to 
wait  for  a  train." 

I  interpreted  this  also ;  but  the  man  was  obdurate. 
"  She  cannot  wait  here.  No  one  is  allowed — by 
law." 

"  But  I  must  wait,"  she  broke  in,  and  blushed 
vividly  and  trembled  at  having  given  away  the  fact 
that  she  understood  him. 

"  Let  me  offer  a  suggestion.  I  am  an  English- 
man, Robert  Anstruther,  and  if  you  will  permit,  I 
will  wait  with  you  outside  until  your  servant  re- 
turns. These  officials  are  obstinate  just  now  because 
of  some  plot  that  has  been  discovered;  and  he  will 
only  send  for  the  police  if  you  do  not  comply." 

At  the  mention  of  the  police  she  rose  quickly,  all 
the  colour  left  her  face  and  her  lips  quivered. 

The  stationmaster  beamed  his  thanks  upon  me 
as  he  bowed  us  out  and  turned  the  key  upon  us. 

"  These  little  officials  are  very  touchy,"  I  said, 
when  we  stood  outside  and  I  saw  she  was  quite 
undecided  what  to  do. 


io      IN  THE  CAUSE  OF  FREEDOM 

She  paused,  and  then  said  impulsively :  "  I  don't 
know  what  you  will  think.  I — I  am  so  ashamed." 

"  I  hope  not.     There  is  no  need." 

"  I  mean  about — I  am  not  English." 

"  Are  you  not  ?  You  answered  me  in  English," 
I  said  gravely. 

A  little  blush  signalled  vexation.  "  As  if  you 
did  not  know.  It  is  no  subject  for  laughter." 

"  God  forbid  that  I  should  laugh.  You  are  too 
evidently  in  deep  trouble." 

"  And  you  know  that  I  understood  him  all  the 
time." 

I  bowed.     "  I  ask  no  questions." 

"  I  should  like  to  explain,  but  I  cannot.  Oh.  how 
humiliating ! "  she  cried,  and  the  distress  and  trou- 
ble in  her  tone  touched  me  deeply. 

"  I  am  only  a  stranger,  but  if  I  can  help  you,  I 
beg  you  to  give  me  the  opportunity." 

"  You  cannot.  You  cannot ;  oh,  I "  She 

left  the  sentence  unfinished  and  turned  away  to 
stare  along  the  road  leading  to  the  village,  her  arm 

resting  upon  a  gate  near.  "  If  he  comes  back " 

I  heard  her  murmur;  but  the  rest  of  the  sentence 
was  lost. 

She  was  a  mystery,  and  a  very  fascinating  mys- 
tery too.  Who  could  she  be?  Why  travelling 
alone?  What  was  her  trouble?  Why  pretending 
to  be  English?  Why  had  she  started  so  at  the  men- 
tion of  the  police?  These  and  a  dozen  other  ques- 
tions rushed  into  my  mind  in  the  minute  or  two 
that  followed.  I  cudgelled  my  wits  for  something 


A  CHANCE  MEETING  n 

to  say ;  some  way  of  breaking  down  the  barrier  that 
prevented  her  making  some  kind  of  use  of  me. 

The  visit  of  the  police  agent  having  turned  my 
thoughts  to  the  subject  of  the  conspiracy,  I  won- 
dered whether  she  could  be  in  any  way  connected 
with  it.  A  fugitive,  perhaps?  But  the  idea  was 
preposterous.  She  was  surely  the  very  incarnation 
of  innocence;  about  as  well  fitted  for  a  conspirator 
as  I  was  for  a  police  agent. 

She  turned  suddenly  and  broke  in  upon  my 
thoughts  by  saying,  hurriedly  and  nervously,  this 
time  in  Polish :  "  Thank  you,  sir,  for  what  you  have 
done  and  also  for  your  offer;  but  I  must  not  detain 
you  longer." 

I  smiled.  "  You  are  not  detaining  me ;  but  I  will 
go,  of  course,  if  you  wish." 

She  hesitated.  I  hoped  it  was  from  reluctance 
to  dismiss  me.  Then  she  put  out  her  hand  impul- 
sively and  said  with  an  air  of  constraint  and  a  very 
wistful  look :  "  My  secret  is  safe  with  you,  I  know." 

"  I  should  like  to  make  it  a  condition  of  silence 
that  you  let  me  help  you  further." 

"  No,  no.  That  is  impossible ;  impossible,"  she 
cried  quickly.  "  My — my  servant  will  be  back 
soon."  The  fear  in  her  eyes  increased  as  she  spoke 
of  him. 

"  Well,  don't  forget  the  name — Anstruther.  I'm 
at  the  Petersburg  Inn,  should  you — or  your  friends 
think  me  likely  to  be  of  any  use." 

She  shook  her  head.  "  No,  no.  Thank  you. 
Thank  you." 


12      IN  THE  CAUSE  OF  FREEDOM 

I  raised  my  hat  and  turned  away.  I  would  have 
given  a  lot  to  be  able  to  find  some  excuse  for  stay- 
ing with  her;  and  when  I  looked  after  her,  chance 
found  me  a  reason  to  go  back.  She  was  walking 
slowly  in  the  direction  of  the  village,  her  back  to- 
wards me,  and  I  saw  her  handkerchief  fall. 

I  picked  it  up  and  hurried  after  her.  Hearing 
my  step  she  turned  so  quickly  as  to  suggest  alarm. 

"You  have  dropped  this,"  I  said,  handing  her 
the  little  dainty  lace  trifle.  As  I  held  it  out  the 
initials  "  V.D."  embroidered  in  the  corner,  lay  up- 
permost. 

She  took  it  hurriedly,  glanced  from  the  initials 
to  my  face,  and  then  thanked  me. 

Just  then  a  man  came  hastily  round  a  bend  in 
the  path  some  twenty  paces  ahead  of  us.  She  bit 
her  lip  at  sight  of  him  and  her  nervous  confusion 
increased. 

"My — my  servant.     You  must  go,  please." 

Surprised  that  she  should  shew  such  fear  of  a 
servant,  I  drew  aside  with  a  smile  and  she  walked 
on. 

Then  I  looked  at  the  servant;  and  the  mystery 
about  her  at  once  became  clearer  and  yet  deeper. 

It  is  one  of  the  freaks  of  my  otherwise  treacherous 
memory,  never  to  forget  a  face ;  and  despite  his  dis- 
guise I  recognized  the  man  at  once.  I  knew  him 
by  his  remarkable  eyes — small,  piercing  and  almost 
black  in  hue. 

It  was  Count  Peter  Valdemar,  the  "  Stormy 
Petrel "  of  Polish  politics ;  the  originator  of  a  dozen 


A  CHANCE  MEETING  13 

conspiracies.     He  was  dressed  as  a  servant,  wore  a 
close-cropped  red  wig,  and  was  clean  shaven. 

I  recalled  the  police  agent's  words  instantly;  and 
the  danger  to  the  girl  appealed  to  me.  For  her  sake 
I  resolved  to  warn  him. 

They  spoke  together,  and  from  his  glances  in  my 
direction,  I  guessed  she  was  telling  him  what  I  had 
done.  As  I  approached  them,  he  assumed  the  defer- 
ential air  of  a  servant. 

"  A  word  with  you,"  I  said. 

He  was  full  of  surprise.     "  With  me,  sir?  " 

I  drew  him  aside.  "  I  have  no  desire  to  pry  into 
your  affairs,  but  I  wish  to  warn  you  that  you  are 
in  great  danger  of  discovery  here." 

"Danger!  Of  what?  Surely  you  are  mistaken, 
sir?"  He  spoke  with  a  flourish  of  the  hand  and  a 
bow,  but  his  piercing  eyes  were  fixed  intently  upon 
mine. 

"  I  am  a  friend  of  Count  Ladislas  Tuleski,  and  I 
met  you  once  or  twice  in  his  rooms  in  London  a 
year  ago.  You  are  Count  Peter  Valdemar.  This 
morning  a  police  agent  from  Warsaw  visited  me, 
and  regarded  me  as  a  suspect  because  of  my  friend- 
ship with  the  Count,  and  because  I  admitted  that  I 
had  known  you.  Take  the  warning  from  me  as  a 
friend ;  and  be  on  your  guard.  If  I  have  recognized 
you,  others  may." 

It  was  safer  for  us  both  not  to  be  seen  together, 
so  I  walked  off  leaving  him  a  very  much  surprised 
Count  indeed. 


CHAPTER  II 

ON  THE  DEVIL'S  STAIRCASE 

T  HAD  not  walked  three  hundred  yards  towards 
•*•  the  village  when  I  met  the  police  agent  hurry- 
ing stationwards  at  a  pace  which  would  quickly 
bring  him  face  to  face  with  Count  Peter  and  his 
companion. 

This  must  be  prevented  at  any  cost,  so  I  stopped 
him. 

"  I  wish  to  speak  to  you." 

"  They  told  me  you  had  gone  to  the  station." 

This  was  all  right,  for  it  showed  he  was  follow- 
ing me.  "  Our  interview  ended  hastily  this  morn- 
ing because  I  thought  you  doubted  my  word  and  I 
was  angry.  I  see  now  that  you  were  doing  your 
duty.  Come  back  with  me  to  the  inn,  and  let  us 
talk  things  over." 

"  You  can  say  what  you  have  to  say  here,"  he 
answered.  He  was  a  surly  dog:  but  I  dared  not 
let  him  pass  me. 

"  Scarcely  that ;  because  I  can  adopt  your  sug- 
gestion and  prove  to  you,  by  letters  and  so  forth, 
that  I  am  what  I  told  you ;  an  Englishman  and  not 
a  spy." 

"  Why  do  you  change  like  this?  "  His  suspicious 
tone  again. 

14 


ON  THE  DEVIL'S  STAIRCASE      15 

"  The  reason  is  simple.  I  have  decided  to  leave 
here  to-morrow  probably,  and  don't  wish  to  be 
bothered  by  your  spies  meanwhile.  It  is  simpler 
to  convince  you  with  proofs."  I  linked  my  arm  in 
his.  "  Come  along-,  we  must  understand  one  an- 
other better.  I  am  not  the  suspicious  individual 
you  think  and  you  are  no  doubt  a  better  fellow  than 
I  deemed." 

He  was  a  little  beast,  only  fit  to  be  kicked ;  but  I 
thought  of  the  girl  and  smothered  my  natural  in- 
clinations. 

By  the  time  we  reached  my  rooms  I  had  worked 
some  of  his  suspicions  loose ;  and  when  I  laid  before 
him  letters  from  my  sister  and  friends  at  home,  and 
showed  him  such  things  as  my  cheque  book,  letter 
of  credit,  and  so  on,  he  was  sufficiently  satisfied  to 
have  a  bottle  of  wine  with  me. 

Over  this  his  tongue  was  loosened  and  we  dis- 
cussed the  conspiracy,  which  he  admitted  was  wide- 
spread and  in  some  respects  more  dangerous  than 
any  which  had  threatened  the  Empire  for  years. 
Its  especial  danger  lay  in  the  skill  with  which  the 
leaders  had  attempted  to  blend  industrial  discon- 
tent with  political  intrigue;  and  so  form  a  union 
among  vast  masses  of  the  population  in  many  in- 
dustrial cities. 

The  practical  grievances  of  the  workers  and  the 
many  wrongs  of  the  rural  population  were  being 
used  by  the  democratic  theorists,  the  dreamers  and 
the  political  agitators  to  foment  discontent;  and  I 
knew  enough  of  Russia  to  be  aware  that  such 


1 6      IN  THE  CAUSE  OF  FREEDOM 

highly  inflammable  materials  as  these  might  easily 
be  heaped  together  and  then  fanned  into  one  huge 
simultaneous  explosion  all  over  the  Empire,  terrible 
enough  to  startle  the  world. 

In  Russian  Poland  the  cause  was  the  old  one — • 
national  independence ;  and  it  was  in  this  that  Count 
Peter  Valdemar  had  taken  a  part  and  that  my  friend 
Ladislas  was  involved. 

I  repeated  my  surprise  that  my  friend  should  be 
regarded  as  dangerous. 

"  He  is  a  leader ;  and  at  such  times  any  man  may 
be  a  source  of  danger,"  was  the  reply. 

"  And  this  Count  Peter — where  is  he  ?  "  I  asked 
casually. 

"  He  is  probably  making  for  the  German  frontier, 
with  the  intention  of  flying  to  England.  He  was  at 
Warsaw ;  but  disappeared.  Your  country  has  much 
to  answer  for  in  harbouring  all  these  plotters." 

"  If  it  comes  to  that  we  have  a  few  anarchists  of 
our  own,  and  they  are  harboured  on  this  side  of 
the  Channel." 

"  Not  in  Russia.  But  I  don't  think  the  Count 
will  escape  us  this  time.  He  is  well  known  to  so 
many  of  us." 

"  And  if  you  catch  him  ?  "  A  significant  smile 
answered  me  and  a  tilt  of  the  eyebrows. 

"  You  have  a  wonderful  police  system,"  said  I, 
admiringly. 

"  We  shall  catch  him  on  the  frontier,  sir.  Make 
no  mistake.  No  man  can  get  through  the  net  we 
have  spread  there." 


ON  THE  DEVIL'S  STAIRCASE      17 

I  emptied  my  glass.  "  Well,  here's  luck  to  all 
who  deserve  it.  And  now,  about  myself?  " 

"  I  will  communicate  with  Warsaw ;  and  mean- 
time go  where  you  will  or  stay  here  if  you 
prefer." 

I  had  succeeded  in  detaining  him  nearly  a  couple 
of  hours,  and  by  this  time  the  Count  and  his  com- 
panion ought  to  be  out  of  the  place;  so  I  ordered 
my  horse,  resolved  to  go  for  a  ride  to  test  the  truth 
of  the  little  beggar's  assurance  that  I  was  not  to  be 
watched. 

I  chose  the  southern  road  and  as  the  ground  was 
very  hard  I  went  at  a  leisurely  pace.  I  was  not 
followed;  and  as  soon  as  I  had  satisfied  myself  of 
this,  my  thoughts  slipped  back  to  the  incident  at  the 
railway  station,  and  a  pair  of  blue  eyes  that  had 
looked  with  such  desolate  wistfulness  into  mine. 
Would  the  Count  get  away?  Had  they  gone  al- 
ready? Would  chance  ever  bring  us  together 
again?  Could  I  not  do  something  on  my  own  ac- 
count to  help  chance?  That  was  more  my  way; 
and  I  set  to  work  thinking  how  I  could  use  my 
friendship  with  Ladislas  to  accomplish  my  end. 

I  was  still  following  this  train  of  thought  when  I 
reached  the  hill  known  locally  as  the  "  Devil's  Stair- 
case." Bratinsk  stands  on  a  plateau ;  and  about  five 
miles  to  the  south,  this  hill,  one  of  the  most  dan- 
gerous I  have  ever  seen  on  account  of  its  fearful 
gradient  and  deadly  twists  and  turns,  leads  to 
the  plains  below.  From  the  top  there  is  a  fine  view 
over  the  Batak  Levels,  a  stretch  of  fertile  country 


1 8      IN  THE  CAUSE  OF  FREEDOM 

extending  for  miles  to  the  foot-hills  beyond.  It  was 
a  favourite  spot  of  mine  and  on  reaching  it  now  I 
dismounted,  tethered  my  horse  near  and  strolled  to 
smoke  a  cigar  and  continue  my  reverie. 

I  was  inclined  to  shake  hands  with  myself  at  the 
thought  of  using  Ladislas.  He  would  surely  be  able 
to  tell  me  enough  of  Count  Valdemar  to  put  me  on 
the  track;  and  I  was  just  thinking  how  to  describe 
the  girl  whose  initials  I  believed  to  be"  "  V.  D." 
when  I  caught  the  grating  of  wheels,  followed  rap- 
idly by  the  throbbing  sound  of  horses'  feet. 

Some  one  must  be  in  a  deuce  of  a  hurry,  I  thought, 
as  I  looked  back  along  the  road.  Some  one  was, 
surely  enough.  Not  a  couple  of  hundred  yards 
from  the  brink  of  the  hill  came  a  light  caleche  with 
two  occupants  drawn  by  a  pair  of  horses  at  full 
gallop.  What  was  the  fool  of  a  driver  about  ?  To 
dash  down  the  Devil's  Staircase  at  that  mad  pace 
meant  death.  No  horses  ever  foaled  could  make  the 
sharp  turns  and  twists  of  that  zigzag,  treacherous, 
deadly  incline  at  a  gallop. 

I  shouted  a  warning  at  the  top  of  my  voice ;  and 
then  my  heart  seemed  to  leap  in  my  breast  and 
every  vein  in  my  body  to  chill  like  ice  as  the  occu- 
pants of  the  caleche  looked  up,  and  I  recognized 
Count  Peter  Valdemar  and  the  girl  who  had  been 
in  my  thoughts  all  that  day. 

As  the  runaways  reached  me  I  leapt  down  on  to 
the  road  and  I  made  a  spring  for  the  reins  of  the 
horse  nearest  me.  I  missed  them  and  was  rolled 
over  and  over,  while  the  frightened  beasts  dashed 


ON  THE  DEVIL'S  STAIRCASE      19 

on,  the  Count  tearing  and  tugging  and  straining  at 
the  reins  in  a  futile  effort  to  stop  them. 

I  jumped  up  and  ran  down  the  hill  in  pursuit. 
Just  below,  the  road  made  an  S-shaped  curve,  and 
the  horses  were  round  this  and  out  of  sight  like  a 
flash ;  and  while  I  was  racing  after  them  round  the 
first  bend,  I  heard  a  shout  in  a  man's  voice,  a  girl's 
scream,  and  then  the  crashing  sound  of  a  smash. 

I  reached  the  scene  in  a  few  moments.  The  wreck 
had  come  at  a  point  where  the  road  turned  at  less 
than  a  right  angle;  and  the  sight  of  it  sickened  me 
with  fear. 

One  horse  was  down,  lying  against  a  bank,  bleed- 
ing profusely  and  kicking  spasmodically  in  what  I 
judged  to  be  a  death  struggle.  The  other  was  on 
its  feet  and  was  plunging  and  tugging  to  free  itself 
from  the  reins  and  harness  which  had  got  entangled 
in  the  wreck  of  the  caleche.  Under  the  body  of  the 
vehicle  lay  the  Count,  and  as  I  did  not  for  the  mo- 
ment see  his  companion,  I  guessed  that  she  must 
be  hidden  under  the  wreckage  too. 

With  a  big  effort  I  hoisted  the  vehicle  sufficiently 
to  drag  out  the  Count;  but  the  girl  was  not  there. 

Then  I  saw  her  lying  behind  a  bush  by  the  road- 
side. I  ran  to  her  and  laid  my  finger  on  her  pulse. 
With  intense  relief  I  found  the  beat;  feeble  it  is 
true,  but  steady ;  and  I  poured  some  brandy  into  the 
cup  of  my  flask  and  managed  to  get  a  little  of  it 
between  her  lips.  A  trembling  sigh  escaped  her; 
and  I  returned  to  the  Count. 

The  police  agent  was  right.     The  Count  would 


20      IN  THE  CAUSE  OF  FREEDOM 

never  cross  the  German  frontier — he  had  crossed 
the  farther  one.  I  knew  enough  of  first  aid  work 
to  ascertain  the  cause.  His  neck  was  broken;  and 
I  guessed  he  had  been  thrown  sideways  on  to  his 
head,  snapping  the  vertebrae.  I  drew  the  body  to 
the  side  of  the  road  and  threw  one  of  the  rugs 
over  it. 

Next  I  freed  the  sound  horse — thinking  he  might 
be  needed — soothed  him  a  bit  and  tethered  him  to  a 
tree. 

By  this  time  the  girl  was  fast  recovering  and  I 
went  back  to  her.  I  was  administering  another 
dose  of  the  brandy  when  she  opened  her  eyes. 

"You!"  she  said 

"  Yes,  fortunately.  Don't  -worry  about  things. 
May  I  help  you  to  sit  up  and  take  this,  or  can  you 
manage  it  alone?  That's  good,"  I  smiled  as  she 
sat  up  unaided. 

"  What  has  happened  ?  Oh,  I  remember.  The 

hill  and  then "  arrd  she  put  her  hands  before 

her  eyes  for  a  moment. 

"  You  have"  had  a  wonderful  escape." 

The  word  confused  her.  "  Did  we  escape  then  ? 
Is  he  not  following  us?  My  uncle  thought — oh,  I 
understand;  I  thought  you  meant — but  is  he 
hurt?" 

"  Yes,  badly." 

I  had  placed  her  so  that  her  back  was  towards  the 
wrecked  carriage  and  the  Count's  body;  but  at  my 
words  she  turned  and  looked  round.  Her  eyes  were 
wide  with  horror.  "  Is  he  dead  ?  "  she  asked. 


ON  THE  DEVIL'S  STAIRCASE      21 

"  But  for  a  miracle  you  would  have  shared  his 
fate." 

She  was  silent  for  a  moment  and  lifted  her  hands 
and  let  them  fall  with  a  sigh.  "  He  would  rather 
have  had  it  so  than  have  been  captured;  and  he 
feared  that  this  time.  He  was  a  hard,  desperate 
man." 

There  was  no  sign  of  any  strong  emotion  or 
great  personal  grief  in  this  reference  to  him.  It 
was  far  better  so  under  the  circumstances.  But  I 
did  not  quite  know  what  to  say. 

Then  she  surprised  me.  "  He  told  me  to  come 
to  you  if  anything  happened  to  him.  You  recog- 
nized him,  he  said." 

"  Yes,  as  Count  Peter  Valdemar.  I  warned  him 
this  morning." 

"  He  told  me.  You  are  a  friend  of — Count 
Ladislas  Tuleski?"  She  said  this  with  just  a  sus- 
picion of  hesitation. 

"An  intimate  friend.     Do  you  know  him?" 

"  Yes — I  know  him, — oh,  yes :  I "  she  hesi- 
tated, glanced  at  me  and  stopped. 

"  He  is  one  of  my  most  intimate  friends  and 
one  of  the  best  fellows  in  the  world,"  I  said  enthu- 
siastically. 

She  made  no  reply,  but  glanced  swiftly  at  me 
again  and  lowered  her  head. 

"  I  think  I  can  walk  now,"  she  said  presently ; 
and  I  helped  her  to  rise.  "  I  am  not  hurt,  you  see. 
It  was  only  fright  and  shock." 

"Thank  God  it  was  no  worse,"  I  cried.    She  did 


22      IN  THE  CAUSE  OF  FREEDOM 

not  seem  to  hear  this.  "  Now,  what  do  you  wish 
to  do?" 

"  I  don't  know.  What  ought  I  to  do  ?  My 
uncle — do  you  know  the  Count  was  my  uncle? — 
or,  rather,  not  my  own  uncle,  no  real  blood  re- 
lation." 

"  No,  I  had  no  idea." 

"  When  the  trouble  came  at  Warsaw  he  had  to 
fly,  and  he  was  carrying  certain  papers  with  in- 
structions to  friends  of  the  Fraternity  to  Cracow. 
A  raid  is  expected  there;  and  there  are  papers 
which  threaten  us  all.  Even  my  own  dear  mother 
is  in  danger.  He  told  me  to  carry  those  papers 
through  to  Cracow  at  any  cost;  to  get  your  help 
if  need  be,  and  to  say  that  your  friend,  Count  Ladis- 
las,  was  also  involved.  I  was  to  tell  you  this,  if 
you  showed  any  reluctance  to  help  me.  But  now 
what  can  we  do  ?  "  and  she  looked  the  picture  of 
dismay. 

"You  were  travelling  as  an  English  girl?" 

"  Yes,  as  Miss  Mary  Smith.  He  got  passports 
for  me  in  that  name  and  for  himself  as  Ivan  Gru- 
bel,  my  servant." 

"Where  are  they?" 

"  He  has  them  and  the  rest  of  the  papers.  They 
are  sewn  into  his  coat." 

"  Why  did  he  make  all  this  methodical  prepara- 
tion?" 

"  He  was  recognized,  I  think,  in  Bratinsk.  That 
was  why  we  were  driving  away.  He  expected  to 
be  pursued." 


ON  THE  DEVIL'S  STAIRCASE      23 

"  If  I  get  the  coat,  can  you  find  the  papers  ?  " 

"  Yes,  but — he  is — dead ;  "  and  she  shuddered. 

"  We  have  to  think  of  the  living.  Yourself,  my 
friend,  and  your  mother." 

It  is  not  a  pleasant  thing  to  strip  the  coat  off  a 
dead  man;  but  it  had  to  be  done.  So  I  went  and 
did  it  as  quickly  as  I  could.  I  took  it  back  to 
her  and  she  was  hurriedly  searching  for  the  papers 
when  she  gave  a  little  gasp  of  alarm  and  shrank 
close  to  me  as  a  horseman  appeared,  picking  his 
way  very  gingerly  down  the  hill.  It  was  my  friend, 
the  police  agent  from  Warsaw.  In  a  moment  he 
took  in  the  scene.  He  recognized  me  at  once,  and 
my  companion  a  moment  later. 

"  Ah,  this  is  better  luck  than  I  expected.  A 
smash,  eh?  So  you  didn't  get  far  away  after  all? 
I  knew  I  should  catch  you,  but  didn't  hope  to  do  it 
so  soon.  Where's  Count  Peter  Valdemar?" 

"  You  again,  is  it  ?  "  I  said,  with  a  smile.  "  This 
young  lady,  a  countrywoman  of  mine,  Miss  Mary 
Smith,  has  met  with  an  accident  and  her  servant, 
named  Ivan  Grubel,  has  been  killed.  The  horses 
ran  away." 

"  Killed,  eh  ?  That's  his  coat  then.  Give  that 
to  me."  My  companion  caught  her  breath  and 
clutched  my  arm. 

"  You  guessed  too  fast,  my  friend ;  you  did  so 
this  morning,  you  know,  as  I  showed  you  after- 
wards. This  coat  is  mine ; "  and  with  that  I  slipped 
my  arms  into  it  and  put  it  on. 

"  Yes,  it's  easy  to  see  it's  yours  by  the  way  it 


24      IN  THE  CAUSE  OF  FREEDOM 

fits  you,"  he  sneered.  My  arms  were  some  three 
inches  too  long  for  the  sleeves  and  the  body  was 
ridiculously  short.  "  I  know  you  by  this  time. 
You  must  give  me  that  coat.  I  saw  the  woman 
there  searching  the  pockets  for  something." 

"  If  you  want  it,  you'd  better  come  and  take  it. 
I  shan't  give  it  up  unless  you  do." 

"  For  your  own  sake  don't  mix  up  any  more  with 
this.  If  you  are  an  Englishman,  go  away  and  leave 
me  to  deal  with  this  woman.  But  give  me  that 
coat.  You  know  to  whom  it  belonged ;  and  I  must 
have  it." 

He  dismounted  and  walked  toward  me. 

"  You  had  better  keep  your  distance,"  I  said 
quietly. 

"You  resist?  Then  I  must  do  my  duty.  You 
are  my  prisoner." 

The  threat  of  arrest  seemed  to  scare  the  girl 
badly,  but  without  a  second's  hesitation  she  tried 
to  shield  me  by  taking  everything  on  her  own 
shoulders. 

"  I  alone  am  responsible,"  she  cried,  stepping 
forward.  "  Give  up  the  coat,  Mr.  Anstruther.  It 
is  I  who  should  be  the  prisoner." 

She  acted  pluckily,  like  the  little  brick  she  was, 
and  with  the  best  intentions  in  the  world.  But  it 
was  a  huge  mistake.  She  had  practically  given  the 
whole  thing  away. 

The  significant  leer  of  triumph  on  the  police 
agent's  face  made  it  plain  that  he  appreciated  this. 


CHAPTER  III 

VOLNA  DRAKONA 

T  LOST  no  time  in  undeceiving  the  police  agent. 
•••  "  You  are  plucking  unshot  birds,"  I  said. 
"  There  is  not  going  to  be  any  arrest  either  of  this 
lady  or  myself.  You  can  end  the  thing  anyhow 
you  please,  short  of  arresting  either  of  us." 

I  was  glad  that  that  made  him  lose  his  temper. 
"  Do  you  dare  to  disobey  me?  "  he  cried  furiously. 

I  became  personal  and  heaped  fuel  on  the  fire  of 
his  anger.  "  Don't  be  a  foolish  little  person.  You 
don't  know  how  idiotic  you  look.  You  can  do 
nothing.  You  are  six  inches  shorter  than  I  am, 
and  I  don't  care  a  kopeck  for  your  authority  as  a 
policeman." 

He  swore  fluently  and  stamped  his  feet  with 
rage.  "  You  will  answer  for  this,"  he  shouted, 
using  a  very  foul  epithet.  "  I  thought  this  morn- 
ing you  were  a  spy.  Now  I  know  it.  You  shall 
not  insult  me.  In  the  name  of  the  Czar,  I  call  on 
you  to  submit." 

I  laughed  at  him  with  intentional  aggravation. 
"  You  are  a  worse  fool  than  I  thought.  I  am  a 
British  subject;  I  have  done  no  wrong;  and  I  care 
no  more  for  your  Czar  than  I  do  for  you.  You 
have  just  insulted  me  grossly  and  the  best  thing 
you  can  do  is  to  clear  out." 

25 


26      IN  THE  CAUSE  OF  FREEDOM 

"You  are  a  revolutionary,  in  league  with  this 
woman  and  the  carrion  there;"  and  he  jerked  his 
thumb  toward  the  dead  body. 

I  took  no  notice  of  this  coarseness,  but  untethered 
the  unhurt  horse  and  led  it  over  to  my  companion. 

"  We  are  going,"  I  said  to  him.  "  I  have  told 
you  that  this  is-  Miss  Mary  Smith ;  I  have  her  pass- 
port here  in  my  coat."  I  rummaged  in  the  pockets, 
found  two  passports,  and  handed  them  to  him. 

He  glanced  at  them  and  then  pocketed  them  with 
a  grin  of  self-satisfaction  at  his  astuteness. 

"  Where  are  you  going?  " 

"  That  is  our  own  business.  I  will  not  let  you 
follow  us.  Return  me  those  passports,"  I  said, 
threateningly.  He  did  not  see  my  object  but  backed 
away  toward  his  horse.  "  Come,  quick." 

He  hesitated  a  moment  and  then  mounted  hur- 
riedly. "  As  they  were  in  your  coat  they  will  con- 
nect you  with  these  people,"  he  said  with  a  cunning 
leer. 

I  did  not  care  a  rap  for  this  now;  whether  he 
kept  or  returned  them.  We  could  not  possibly  use 
them  again,  so  I  shrugged  my  shoulders  and 
turned  away.  "  Go  to  the  devil,"  I  said. 

But  he  had  a  surprise  for  me.  As  my  back  was 
turned  a  pistol  shot  rang  out,  and  the  horse  I  was 
holding  plunged  and  tore  loose  from  me,  limped 
down  the  hill  and  fell  to  the  ground. 

"  Now  we'll  see  about  your  tall  talk,  Mr.  English- 
man. You  and  the  woman  there  will  just  march' 
on  ahead  of  me  into  Bratinsk;  and  if  either  of  you 


VOLNA  DRAKONA  2; 

so  much  as  look  round,  I'll  fire.  Mind  that.  By 
God." 

His  weapon  was  levelled  at  my  head  and  my 
companion  again  showed  the  stuff  she  was  made 
of.  With  a  little  cry  she  dashed  right  in  front  of 
me  dead  in  the  line  of  fire. 

"  You  must  not  shoot,"  she  said,  quite  steadily. 
"  This  gentleman  has  done  nothing  but  help  me 
after  the  accident." 

"  We'll  find  out  all  about  that  at  Bratinsk,"  re- 
plied the  man.  "  Now  march,  you  two." 

It  was  an  ugly  situation;  but  I  did  not  take  the 
police  agent  as  seriously  as  did  "  Mary  Smith." 
They  are  bullies  to  the  core,  so  long  as  it  is  safe  to 
bully;  and  this  fellow  was  a  particularly  brutal 
brute  of  his  brutal  class. 

There  is  one  thing  they  are  all  afraid  of,  how- 
ever, the  censure  of  their  superiors;  and  their  su- 
periors hate  the  investigation  which  follows  when 
anything  happens  to  foreigners  in  general,  and 
Englishmen  and  Americans  in  particular. 

I  felt  quite  confident,  therefore,  that  he  would  not 
fire,  and  that  the  chief  danger  we  ran  was  that  his 
weapon  might  go  off  by  accident.  Moreover,  he 
was  probably  as  bad  a  shot  as  they  nearly  all  are. 
So  I  put  up  a  bluff. 

I  drew  my  companion  to  one  side  and  looking 
the  man  square  in  the  face  I  walked  a  couple  of 
paces  toward  him.  Instead  of  shooting  he  backed 
his  horse  and  warned  me  again.  This  satisfied 
me. 


28      IN  THE  CAUSE  OF  FREEDOM 

'  You  can  fire  if  you  like.  You  know  I  am  an 
Englishman  and  if  you  shoot  me  there'll  be  a 
row." 

"Bo  as  I  say,"  he  shouted  with  an  oath. 

I  paused  and  then  said  very  deliberately :  "  I'll 
see  you  in  hell  first.  Fire  at  me  if  you  dare." 

A  little  gasp  of  alarm  from  the  girl  was  lost  in 
a  volley  of  oaths  from  the  police  agent. 

Then  the  luck  veered  once  more  to  our  side. 
Inadvertently  his  spur  touched  his  horse's  flank 
and  the  animal,  taking  his  loud  tones  as  addressed 
to  it,  began  to  fidget  and  prance  so  that  he  could 
not  have  taken  aim  had  he  wished.  The  figure  he 
cut  was  quite  laughable. 

But  it  was  my  chance  and  I  took  it.  I  picked  up 
a  stone  and  flung  it  at  the  horse.  This  set  it  kick- 
ing and  plunging  desperately  so  that  the  none  too 
skilful  rider  was  nearly  unhorsed.  Choosing  my 
moment  I  ran  up,  seized  the  hand  which  held  the 
revolver  and  wrenched  the  weapon  away  without 
any  trouble  at  all. 

That  was  the  end  of  the  fighting  so  far  as  he  was 
concerned;  for  he  drove  his  spurs  home  and  clat- 
tered away  up  the  hill. 

I  judged  that  he  was  afraid  I  might  now  do  the 
shooting  which  he  had  threatened  so  glibly;  and 
mingled  with  his  fear  was  the  belief  that,  as  he  had 
shot  our  horse  and  had  thus  destroyed  the  means  of 
our  flight,  he  could  safely  ride  off  to  fetch  assist- 
ance. 

"  That's  a  good  riddance  anyhow,"  said  I  with  a 


VOLNA  DRAKONA  29 

laugh,  when  he  had  disappeared.  "  I  think  you're 
the  pluckiest  girl  I  ever  knew." 

"  I  was  so  frightened,"  she  declared. 

"  Yes,  so  frightened  that  you  actually  put  your- 
self right  in  front  of  his  revolver.  That's  the  kind 
of  fright  I  mean;  only  I  call  it  pluck." 

"  It  was  nothing.  But  you  should  not  have  taken 
any  part  in  this  miserable  affair.  You  have  com- 
promised yourself  with  the  police  and  may  get  into 
all  kinds  of  trouble." 

"  Don't  you  think  we  had  better  start  for  Cra- 
cow? That  fellow  won't  be  away  longer  than  he 
can  help,  and  I  have  to  get  a  little  scheme  ready 
for  him  before  he  returns.  The  sooner  we  start  the 
safer." 

"  But  what  can  we  do  about "  and  she 

glanced  to  where  the  Count's  body  lay. 

"  If  we  are  to  think  of  the  living,  we  can  do 
nothing.  He  has  been  recognized  and  when  the 
police  return  they  will  care  for  the  body  and  some- 
thing can  be  done  from  Warsaw. 

"  It  seems  heartless  to  leave  him,"  she  murmured 
in  distressed  perplexity. 

"  There  is  no  other  way ;  so  if  you  please  we  will 
start.  I'll  tell  you  my  plan  as  we  walk.  Your 
mother's  safety  is  in  the  balance,  remember."  She 
yielded  then  and  we  set  out. 

"  I  think  we  shall  get  through  without  any  great 
trouble.  There  is  a  train  from  Bratinsk  somewhere 
about  eight  o'clock,  which  will  put  us  in  Cracow 
in  a  few  hours." 


30      IN  THE  CAUSE  OF  FREEDOM 

"  But  I  have  no  passport  now,  to  pass  the 
frontier." 

"  Fortunately,  I  can  arrange  that.  My  first  plan 
is  to  send  the  police  off  on  a  false  scent.  There  is 
a  peasant  family,  not  a  mile  from  the  top  of  the  hill 
— where  my  horse  is,  by  the  way — and  they  will  do 
anything  for  me.  I  helped  them  out  of  some 
trouble  when  I  was  here  last  year,  and  they  think 
a  lot  of  it.  With  this  police  agent  away  from 
Bratinsk  for  a  few  hours,  we  can  get  off  secretly 
and  safely." 

At  the  top  of  the  hill  I  found  my  horse,  put 
"  Miss  Smith  "  on  his  back  and.  handed  her  the  coat 
which  had  been  the  first  cause  of  trouble. 

"  I  shall  need  the  coat  for  my  plan ;  so  find  the 
papers  which  are  sewn  into  it  and  be  ready  to  rip 
them  out  the  moment  we  reach  the  cottage." 

"  But  you  ?  "  she  protested. 

"  No  protest,  please.  I  am  good  for  more  than 
a  mile  at  fair  speed." 

"  You  do  all  this  for  a  stranger,"  she  said,  her 
eyes  lighting  as  she  looked  down  at  me. 

"  Oh,  we  shan't  always  be  strangers.  Keep  him 
going.  I  can't  talk  and  run  at  the  same  time.  Be 
merciful ; "  and  with  that  we  set  off  at  a  good 
round  trot.  I  held  to  the  stirrup  and  so  had  no 
difficulty  in  keeping  up. 

In  about  five  minutes  we  turned  off  the  road  and 
the  cottage  was  soon  in  sight.  By  good  fortune 
the  man  I  sought,  Michel,  was  in  the  patch  of 


VOLNA  DRAKONA  31 

garden  and  greeted  me  with  a  smile.  I  came  to  the 
point  at  once. 

"  Michel,  you  have  often  asked  for  a  chance  of 
repaying  that  little  debt.  You  can  do  it  now.  I 
want  you  and  your  sister,  Testa,  to  help  me.  You 
are  to  ride  my  horse  and  your  sister  yours,  and 
start  at  once.  Ride  down  the  Devil's  Staircase, 
strike  out  any  way  you  like  at  the  bottom;  ride  for 
four  or  five  hours ;  you  in  the  name  of  Ivan  Grubel, 
your  sister  as  Mary  Smith,  an  English  girl.  At 
the  end  of  the  ride,  which  must  be  as  near  a  rail- 
way station  as  you  can  manage,  turn  my  horse 
adrift  to  go  where  he  will;  and  then  make  your 
way  home  secretly.  And  no  one  must  know  of 
your  absence.  You'll  do  this?  " 

"Why  yes,  Excellency.  Testa,  Testa;"  and  he 
ran  in  calling  his  sister. 

"  Now  for  the  coat  ?  It  will  be  the  best  possible 
thing  to  create  the  false  trail  with." 

"  The  papers  are  here  in  the  lining." 

"  Get  them  out  then  at  once,  please.  We  have 
no  minutes  to  lose."  I  handed  her  a  knife  and  she 
found  them. 

Michel  came  round  the  cottage  a  minute  later 
leading  the  horse  for  his  sister  just  as  Testa  herself 
appeared  ready  to  start. 

"  Good-evening,  Excellency,"  she  said,  her  brown 
eyes  dancing  at  the  thought  of  an  adventure. 

"  You  grow  stronger  every  day,  Testa,  and 
prettier,"  I  said.  "  Now,  Michel,  wear  this  coat, 


32      IN  THE  CAUSE  OF  FREEDOM 

take  care  that  every  one  has  a  full  view  of  it;  and 
when  you  get  rid  of  the  horse,  strap  it  on  his  back. 
Mind,  you  two,  my  liberty  may  depend  upon  you. 
God  speed." 

"  Trust  me,"  replied  Michel  as  he  mounted. 

I  helped  Testa  to  the  saddle.  "  Don't  look 
scared,  child,"  I  said;  for  her  face  had  clouded  at 
my  words.  "  I  shall  be  in  no  danger  if  you  do  this 
thing  well.  Off  with  you." 

"By  the  help  of  the  Virgin,"  returned  Testa; 
and  away  they  went  helter  skelter  towards  the 
Devil's  Staircase. 

As  soon  as  they  were  out  of  sight  we  set  off  for 
Bratinsk,  across  the  fields;  and  I  explained  the 
next  part  of  my  plan.  This  was  to  use  the  two 
passports  of  Bob  Garrett  and  his  sister. 

"  I  have  not  told  you  my  real  name,"  said  my 
companion. 

"  We  scarcely  seem  to  have  had  time  to  speak 
of  anything  yet.  We've  been  pretty  busy,  you 
see."  ' 

"  It  is  Volna  Drakona.  My  father  is  dead ;  my 
dear  mother  is  in  feeble  health.  I  have  a  half- 
brother  and  half-sister — Paul  and  Katinka." 

"  The  passports  will  give  you  another  sort  of 
brother  till  we  get  to  Cracow.  Only  for  a  few 
hours,  however,  if  all  goes  well.  Volna!  I  have 
never  heard  that  name  before." 

"  It  is  my  mother's •"  she  said  simply. 

Then,  "You  like  it?" 

"  It  is  southern  in  it's  sweetness." 


VOLNA  DRAKONA  33 

"  My  mother  is  from  the  South.  Do  you  think 
I  could  write  to  her  and  let  her  know  that  all  is 
well  with  me?  She  may  hear  of  my  uncle's  death, 
and  the  anxiety  will  almost  kill  her.  We  are  deeply 
attached  to  one  another." 

"  There  is  no  reason  why  you  should  not.  And 
from  Cracow  it  may  be  safe  to  telegraph." 

!<  You  speak  as  if  we  were  quite  certain  of  get- 
ting through." 

"  Why  shouldn't  we  ?  I  have  had  another 
thought.  My  servant  is  at  Bratinsk  and  I  shall  use 
him  to  create  another  scent  for  the  police.  I  shall 
send  him  off  toward  Warsaw  in  my  name  while 
we  go  to  Cracow  as  the  two  Garretts.  I  look  for 
no  trouble  in  Bratinsk.  The  police  agent  is  not 
likely  to  think  we  shall  venture  to  return  there.  I 
expect  he  will  just  get  the  help  he  needs  and  rattle 
back  to  make  the  arrest.  He  will  then  follow 
Michel  and  his  sister;  and  as  this  will  take  up  some 
hours  at  least,  we  ought  to  be  clear  away  and  near 
Cracow  before  he  even  returns  to  Bratinsk." 

"  You  make  it  seem  very  simple  and  easy." 

"  So  it  ought  to  be ;  but  I  shall  feel  better  when 
we  are  in  the  train  speeding  west.  There  is  one 
thing,  by-the-by,  you  had  better  make  some  kind 
of  change  in  your  appearance.  I  can  do  it  easily 
by  shaving  my  beard  and  changing  my  clothes.  Do 
you  think  you  could  buy  something  in  Bratinsk? 
Your  description  is  sure  to  be  telegraphed  in  all 
directions." 

We  discussed  the  means  of  doing  this  and  had 


34      IN  THE  CAUSE  OF  FREEDOM 

scarcely  settled  matters  when  we  reached  Bratinsk. 
Having  arranged  where  to  meet,  I  went  to  the  inn 
and  Volna  to  procure  the  change  of  costume. 

The  dusk  was  beginning  to  fall  and  deeming  it 
best  to  be  cautious,  I  entered  the  inn  by  a  side  door 
and  succeeded  in  slipping  up  to  my  rooms  un- 
noticed. 

My  servant,  Felsen,  was  not  there;  but  afraid  to 
lose  time  in  waiting,  and  unwilling  to  risk  asking 
for  him,  I  set  to  work  and  shaved  off  my  beard  and 
moustache.  As  I  changed  my  clothes,  I  found  the 
police  agent's  revolver;  and  took  it  with  me. 

As  Felsen  always  looked  after  my  things  I  did 
not  notice  anything  amiss,  except  that  he  seemed  to 
keep  them  very  carelessly;  but  as  soon  as  I  went 
into  the  sitting  room,  which  opened  from  the  bed- 
room, I  scented  trouble. 

Every  drawer  and  cupboard  in  the  place  had  been 
ransacked,  and  papers  and  books  were  all  left  in  the 
greatest  confusion. 

The  reason  was  plain.  It  was  the  result  of  a 
police  visit.  My  friend  of  the  Devil's  Staircase 
had  set  his  comrades  to  work.  Instinctively  I  ran 
back  into  the  bedroom  and  destroyed  the  evidences 
of  my  shaving  operation,  and  was  in  the  act  of 
leaving  the  room  when  I  heard  voices  approach- 
ing it. 

I  had  barely  time  to  step  into  a  cupboard  when 
the  door  was  opened  and  two  men  entered.  One 
was  Felsen,  the  other  a  stranger.  His  curt,  sharp 
tone  and  manner  suggested  the  police. 


VOLNA  DRAKONA  35 

They  passed  through  into  the  sitting  room 
beyond. 

"  Your  master  has  not  been  back  then,  it 
seems  ?  " 

"  I  shouldn't  think  he'll  come  back  after  what 
you  say." 

"  He'll  probably  be  brought  back."  This  with  a 
sneer.  "  We  know  how  to  deal  with  spies  and 
traitors." 

There  was  a  pause  and  then  Felsen  said :  "  I 
suppose  if  he's  caught  he  won't  be  let  out  for  a 
long  while." 

"  Our  prison  doors  only  open  one  way  easily," 
chuckled  the  other. 

"  Then  I  may  as  well  look  after  myself,  I 
suppose." 

"  Yes.     He's  evidently  made  a  fool  of  you." 

"  Well,  it's  my  turn  now.     Have  a  cigar?  " 

I  heard  matches  struck  and  smelt  my  best  cigars. 

"  We  can  wait  downstairs  as  well  as  here,"  said 
the  police  agent.  "  I'll  lock  the  doors  this  time  to 
make  sure."  He  came  into  the  bedroom  locked  the 
door  on  the  inside  and  then  went  back.  The  other 
door  was  then  locked  and  the  two  men  went  down- 
stairs. 

Fortunately  he  had  left  the  key  in  the  bedroom 
door,  and  the  instant  the  way  was  clear,  I  went  out, 
crept  along  the  corridor  and  down  the  back  stair- 
way to  the  door  by  which  I  had  entered. 

I  gained  the  street  safely  and  walked  away  to- 
ward the  railway  station,  trusting  to  the  gloom  of 


36      IN  THE  CAUSE  OF  FREEDOM 

the  evening  and  my  shaven  face  to  save  me  from 
recognition. 

By  the  action  of  the  police  and  the  fact  that  they 
were  already  on  the  look-out  for  me  had  crumpled 
up  my  plan.  And  there  was  still  worse  to  come. 


CHAPTER  IV 

A  HORSEDEALING  TRANSACTION 

AS  I  hurried  to  the  station  I  tried  to  think  over 
the  position  coolly  and  carefully. 

In  the  first  place,  I  was  now  a  fugitive  from  the 
police ;  but  as  I  had  done  no  wrong,  the  fact  had  a 
sort  of  fascination  for  me.  The  scent  of  adventure 
and  the  prospective  excitement  attracted  me,  and 
the  idea  of  a  trial  of  wits  with  the  authorities  roused 
every  combative  instinct  in  my  nature. 

Even  had  there  been  no  one  else  involved,  I 
should  have  gone  through  with  the  thing  for  its 
own  sake.  But  there  was  Volna.  Her  safety  and 
that  of  her  mother  depended  upon  me;  and  that 
fact  was  the  most  powerful  incentive  I  could  have 
had  to  urge  me  to  my  utmost  effort.  The  thought 
of  helping  such  a  splendid  girl  was  just  a  sheer 
delight. 

Those  papers  had  to  be  got  to  Cracow.  The 
mother's  safety  required  this ;  and  the  risk  involved 
in  the  attempt  formed  the  spice  of  the  adventure. 
I  had  powerful  and  influential  friends  both  at  home 
and  on  the  continent  who  would  readily  help  me  to 
get  out  of  any  bother  so  far  as  matters  had  gone  at 
present;  but  it  might  be  a  very  difficult  thing  if  in 
the  present  excited  state  of  the  empire,  I  was  caught 
helping  the  "  P.F.F."  by  carrying  seditious  docu- 

37 


38      IN  THE  CAUSE  OF  FREEDOM 

ments  for  revolutionary  purposes.  Volna  also  had 
run  no  great  risk  as  yet.  The  mere  fact  that  she 
was  travelling  with  Count  Peter  Valdemar  was  not 
by  itself  likely  to  involve  her  in  any  serious  con- 
sequences. If  the  papers  could  have  been  destroyed, 
therefore,  we  could  easily  have  put  an  end  to  the 
complication.  But  this  was  impossible.  Their 
delivery  in  Cracow  was  imperative. 

We  stood  thus  at  the  dividing  line  betwe^r.  safety 
and  risk;  and  there  was  nothing  for  it  but  to  go 
through  with  the  matter  to  the  end. 

My  experience  at  the  inn  had  its  lesson.  I 
recognized  that  I  must  move  very  warily  indeed 
in  making  any  inquiries  at  the  station.  The  fussy 
little  station-master,  Blauben,  might  recognize  me 
despite  the  change  in  my  appearance;  and  I  did 
not  at  all  relish  the  prospect  of  interviewing 
him. 

But  in  this  one  respect  the  luck  was  with  me.  I 
was  surprised  to  see  a  small  crowd  of  people  at  the 
generally  deserted  station,  and  it  was  an  easy 
matter  to  mingle  with  them  without  being  observed. 

That  was  all  the  luck  there  was,  however,  as  the 
reason  for  the  crowd  spelt  further  disaster  to  my 
plans  of  escape.  The  place  was  in  a  hubbub  of  ex- 
citement; and  I  soon  learnt  that  there  had  been  a 
very  serious  accident  on  the  line  at  a  place  called 
Pulta,  some  seven  or  eight  miles  west  of  Bratinsk, 

As  a  result  of  this  the  line  to  Cracow  was  blocked. 
There  would  be  no  train  going  west  that  night. 

The  people  in  the  station  were  travellers  from 


A  HORSEDEALING  TRANSACTION     39 

the  opposite  direction  who  had  been  put  out  and 
told,  with  the  usual  courtesy  of  the  railway  authori- 
ties, that  they  must  shift  for  themselves  until  the 
line  was  clear.  They  might  think  themselves  lucky, 
I  overheard  little  Blauben  tell  one  man,  if  they  got 
on  by  noon  the  following  day. 

This  was  check  with  a  vengeance;  if  not  check- 
mate. 

I  hung  about  for  some  time  with  the  object  of 
ascertaining  the  chance  of  getting  a  train  in  the 
other  direction — anything  to  get  out  of  Bratinsk — 
and  was  pretending  to  study  one  of  the  time  bills 
when  I  caught  my  own  name. 

"  Know  the  Englishman,  Anstruther?  Of  course 
I  do."  It  was  Blauben's  voice.  "  If  he  comes  here, 
I'll  stop  him." 

"  We  think  he  may  try  and  bolt." 

"  How's  he  going  to  bolt  ?  There's  no  train 
west  and  nothing  east  except  the  midnight  express. 
But  what's  it  all  about  ?  "  The  reply  was  given  in 
low  tone  and  escaped  me.  But  part  of  the  station- 
master's  answer  was  enough. 

"  Spy  ?  Rubbish.  Why  he  was  here  shooting 
last  year.  You  people  would  find  spies  growing  on 
gooseberry  bushes.  No.  I  have  already  told  a 
hundred  of  you  that  there  will  be  no  train  " — this 
to  a  questioner  in  a  tone  of  exasperation;  and  I 
saw  him  hurry  off  gesticulating  frantically.  I  could 
do  no  good  by  waiting  longer,  so  I  slipped  out  of 
the  station,  and  went  back  to  the  village  to  meet 
Volna. 


40      IN  THE  CAUSE  OF  FREEDOM 

After  all,  the  accident  at  Pulta  might  not  prove 
an  unmitigated  evil.  The  few  sentences  I  had  over- 
heard showed  that  the  police  were  watching  the 
station  for  me;  and  an  attempt  to  leave  would 
probably  have  landed  us  right  into  their  hands. 

Then  it  occurred  to  me  that  we  might  even  turn 
the  accident  to  good  account.  If  we  could  get  to 
Pulta  soon,  we  could  give  an  excellent  reason  for 
our  presence ;  that  we  wished  to  inquire  about  some 
friend  supposed  to  have  been  in  the  wrecked  train; 
and,  as  the  line  from  there  to  Cracow  would  be 
open,  we  could  do  the  journey  after  all  by  rail. 

Pulta  by  the  road  was  some  ten  miles,  and  a 
rough  hilly  road  it  was.  Too  far  and  too  rough 
for  Volna  to  attempt  to  walk.  To  hire  any  kind  of 
conveyance  was  of  course  out  of  the  question;  as 
it  would  lay  a  trail  which  even  a  blind  policeman 
could  follow.  I  had  a  spare  horse  at  the  inn;  but 
for  the  same  reason  I  dared  not  attempt  to  take  it 
out  of  the  stable. 

In  that  part  of  Poland,  however,  one  deal  can 
always  be  made  without  exciting  any  comment  or 
surprise.  Anyone  will  trade  a  horse  with  you,  and 
at  any  time  of  the  day  or  night.  I  believe  a  man 
would  not  be  in  the  least  surprised  to  be  called  out 
of  bed  at  midnight  for  the  purpose;  and  I  am  sure 
he  would  gladly  get  up  for  the  sheer  pleasure  of 
the  deal.  It  is  the  one  great  pastime,  or  as  near  to 
a  pastime,  as  the  older  men  of  that  district  care  to 
get. 

But  to  obtain  a  saddle  was  another  matter;  while 


A  HORSEDEALING  TRANSACTION     41 

even  to  have  asked  for  such  a  thing  as  a  side  saddle 
would  have  stirred  enough  curiosity  to  set  the 
gossips'  tongues  click-clacking  all  over  the  village. 
There  was  nothing  for  it  therefore  except  that 
Volna  should  ride  bareback;  and  as  I  should  have 
to  lead  her  horse,  there  was  no  use  in  getting  one 
for  myself. 

Volna  was  waiting  for  me  when  I  reached  the 
appointed  place.  She  had  made  a  considerable 
change  in  her  appearance.  A  long  fur  cloak 
covered  her  dress,  and  in  place  of  her  former  dainty 
headgear  she  was  wearing  a  close  fur  turban. 

Wishing  to  try  the  effect  of  my  own  altered 
appearance,  I  assumed  a  sort  of  slouching  walk  and 
made  as  if  to  pass  her. 

"  Did  you  think  I  should  not  know  you  ?  "  she 
asked. 

"  I  was  rather  hoping  you  would  not.  I  am 
supposed  to  be  disguised." 

She  laughed.     "  I  should  know  you  anywhere." 

"  Then  we  must  trust  that  other  eyes  are  not  so 
keen  as  yours,"  said  I,  feeling  a  little  crestfallen. 

"  Or  that  they  are  not  so  interested  in  recogniz- 
ing you.  What  about  the  train  ?  " 

"  None  but  bad  news ; "  and  I  told  her  what  had 
occurred  and  how  I  proposed  to  manage.  She 
agreed  at  once,  but  was  for  walking. 

"I  think  I  can  walk  ten  miles,"  she  declared 
readily. 

"  There  is  no  need.  It  is  a  rough,  hilly  road ; 
and  there  is  a  man  at  the  other  end  of  the  village 


42       IN  THE  CAUSE  OF  FREEDOM 

from  whom  I  can  buy  a  horse  without  any  chance 
of  rousing  suspicions." 

"  It  would  not  be  more  hilly  for  me  than  for  you, 
would  it?" 

"  1  think  you  had  better  have  the  horse." 

"  Then  I  will  say  no  more,"  she  agreed.  "  I  am 
afraid  my  disguise  is  not  much  more  successful 
than  yours,"  she  added,  as  we  walked  on. 

"  It  might  have  been  awkward  if  neither  had 
recognized  the  other,  mightn't  it?" 

"  I  hadn't  thought  of  that." 

"  You  would  have  to  hide  your  face,  if  you  don't 
want  to  be  known." 

"  I  expect  I  look  an  awful  fright." 

"  The  more  disguised  you  are  the  better,"  said 
I.  She  laughed.  "  It  is  good  to  hear  you  laugh 
in  the  midst  of  all — this  uncertainty." 

"  It  cannot  be  so  very  dreadful  if  you  can  man- 
age to  pay  such  neat  compliments  Mr. — An- 
struther." 

"  You  find  that  name  a  bit  troublesome,  eh  ? " 

"  Don't  you  think  you  are  worth  taking  some 
trouble  for?  But  it  is  hard." 

"  Lucky  that  I'm  going  to  change  it  while  we 
are  together." 

"Change  it?" 

"We'll  talk  that  all  over  on  the  road  to  Pulta. 
Here's  the  place  where  I  hope  to  get  the  horse.  It 
may  take  a  little  time.  Will  you  wait  for  me  ?  " 

There  is  a  rough  kind  of  recognized  procedure 
in  horsedealing  in  that  district;  but  as  I  had  had 


A  HORSEDEALING  TRANSACTION     43 

more  than  one  experience  of  the  kind  I  knew  how 
to  act. 

I  crossed  to  the  house  and  seeing  a  light  in  the 
stable  behind,  guessed  I  should  find  the  man  bed- 
ding his  horses.  He  did  not  know  me,  but  I  had 
heard  of  him. 

"  Good-evening,  Andreas,"  I  said  in  a  rather 
surly  tone,  as  if  I  had  a  grievance  against  him ;  and 
without  another  word  I  walked  up  to  the  four 
horses  one  after  the  other  and  looked  them  over. 
He  took  no  notice,  but  went  on  forking  the  bedding. 
This  was  all  strictly  in  accordance  with  etiquette. 

I  came  out  of  the  last  stall  shrugging  my 
shoulders  and  laughing  contemptuously.  "  Blauben 
is  a  little  fool.  He  said  I  should  find  some  horses 
here.  Good-night.  There  isn't  one  worth  a  couple 
of  roubles." 

The  last  sentence  he  understood  to  mean  that  I 
might  possibly  deal.  He  dashed  his  fork  on  the 
ground  and  came  toward  me,  saying  very  angrily: 
"What's  that?  Who  are  you?  Who  sent  you 
here?" 

"  Old  Blauben  at  the  station." 

"  And  do  you  think  you  know  anything  about 
horses?  You  don't  know  even  how  to  look  at 
them?" 

"  I  have  a  chestnut  that's  worth  the  whole  string. 
I  thought  there  was  something  to  buy  here.  I 
suppose  he  thought  I  wanted  meat  for  a  bouillon 
factory.  Good-night." 

"  Wait,  there,  wait,  you  long  imp  of  ignorance. 


44       IN  THE  CAUSE  OF  FREEDOM 

Do  you  want  to  make  a  match  with  your  chestnut? 
Where  is  it?" 

I  laughed.  "  If  these  crocks  of  yours  saw  mine 
they'd  learn  how  to  move.  Here,  smoke,  you  old 
owner  of  dogs'  meat ; "  and  I  handed  him  a  cigar. 

"Holy  Virgin,  what  do  I  hear?"  he  cried, 
throwing  up  his  hands,  and  putting  a  lantern  near 
my  face.  He  knew  well  enough  now  that  I  had 
come  to  trade ;  and  was  happy.  But  we  kept  up  the 
farce  a  little  longer;  he  abusing  my  chestnut  and  I 
his  four  nags. 

His  next  object  was  to  find  out  which  horse  I  had 
selected;  but  I  kept  this  from  him  carefully.  At 
length  I  pointed  to  one  that  I  would  not  have  had 
as  a  gift. 

"  I'm  going  to  give  my  dogs  a  treat  one  day,  I 
think  they  could  manage  with  that.  How  much 
for  it,  if  I  give  you  back  the  hide  and  the  feet  ? " 

He  grinned.  "  You  know  a  fine  horse  when  you 
see  one,  after  all,"  he  said.  "  You  shall  have  him 
— three  hundred  roubles."  About  £30  this. 

"  Kopecks,  you  mean.    Good-night." 

"  Wait,  wait.  Was  there  ever  such  an  impatient 
fool  as  you  ?  Do  you  really  want  him  ?  " 

"  No,  only  I  didn't  want  this  long  walk  for 
nothing:  and  I'm  taking  some  horses  to  Noshti 
Fair." 

"Isn't  there  one  of  the  others  you'd  care  for? 
Don't  be  in  a  hurry." 

"  I'm  in  no  hurry.     What  about  these  others  ?  " 

Then  the  real  bargaining  began.    He  put  a  price 


A  HORSEDEALING  TRANSACTION     45 

on  the  horse  I  wished  to  have;  and  we  chaffered 
and  smoked  and  swore  and  abused  one  another  in 
the  way  these  bargains  are  made.  I  dared  not 
hurry  the  matter  too  much.  He  would  boast  all 
over  the  village  the  next  day  of  the  fool  who  had 
given  him  the  price  he  asked;  and  the  transaction 
would  become  public  property,  with  the  result  that 
the  police  might  get  wind  of  it. 

It  was  safer  to  waste  the  time  necessary  to  drive 
a  hard  bargain.  And  so  we  wrangled  until  I  had 
fought  the  amount  down  to  a  fair  price,  when  we 
spent  another  ten  minutes  squabbling  whether  he 
should  give  me  an  old  bridle  or  merely  a  rope 
halter. 

When  I  had  gained  my  point  and  was  riding  the 
horse  away  he  swore  so  violently  that  he  was  a 
heavy  loser  by  the  deal,  that  I  knew  he  had  made 
enough  profit  to  boast  about.  I  thought  it  best  to 
alter  his  opinion,  therefore. 

"Do  you  know  the  history  of  this  horse?"  I 
asked  knowingly.  "  No,  you  can't  or  you'd  know 
that  I've  cheated  you.  Do  you  know  that  he  came 
from  General  Kolwich's  stable  and  was  sold  for 
four  hundred  roubles  ?  I  should  have  paid  that  for 
him,  had  you  pressed  me.  I  shall  get  five  for  him. 
But  you  should  learn  to  know  a  horse  when  you  see 
one." 

He  pushed  his  cap  back  and  scratched  his  head, 
and  invoked  the  name  of  the  Deity  in  a  despair 
that  was  almost  pathetic. 

I  rode  off  with  a  chuckle.     I  knew  that  I  had 


46       IN  THE  CAUSE  OF  FREEDOM 

struck  deep  into  his  pride  as  a  horse  trader,  and 
that  he  would  now  keep  his  lips  as  close  as  a  rat 
trap  about  the  whole  transaction.  He  would  brood 
over  it,  and  wait  for  the  day  when  he  could  get 
even  with  me;  but  though  the  skies  fell,  he  would 
never  speak  of  that  horse  again  to  anyone. 

The  bargaining  had  taken  nearly  an  hour,  and  I 
feared  the  sands  of  Volna's  patience  would  be  run- 
ning out  fast. 

She  greeted  me  with  a  sigh  of  relief.  "  I  had 
begun  to  fear  all  sorts  of  things." 

"  You  have  never  had  to  buy  a  horse  in  these 
parts.  It's  an  acquired  art  and  can  only  be  accom- 
plished with  many  lies  and  much  time.  But  we'll 
be  off  now.  You  can  manage  to  ride  bare-back, 
I  hope?" 

She  smiled.  "  I  have  ridden  bare-back  ever  since 
I  was  a  child. 

"  Then  you  haven't  had  time  yet  to  forget." 

"  Is  that  a  reflection  on  my  youth  or  another 
compliment?  " 

"It's  about  the  truth,  that's  all." 

"  I'm  nearly  one  and  twenty,"  she  declared  with 
a  delightful  air  of  dignity. 

"  It  is  a  great  age,"  I  agreed.  "  I  remember  how 
I  felt  at  the  time.  One  is  never  so  old  again,  they 
say,  until  quite  late  in  life." 

I  helped  her  to  mount.  "  Bare-back  riding  is  a 
little  undignified  for  one  and  twenty,  I'm  afraid. 
Now  we  are  really  off  and  in  our  new  characters. 
Do  you  know  who  you  are  ?  " 


A  HORSEDEALING  TRANSACTION     47 

"  Miss  Margaret  Garrett,  an  English  girl  who 
is  very  troubled  what  to  do  with  the  r's  in  her 
name." 

"  We  can  alter  that.  My  friend  always  calls 
his  sister  Peg." 

"  Peg !  what  a  woodeny  name." 

"  Short  for  Peggy — we  think  that  rather  pretty." 

She  repeated  it  several  times  and  laughed. 

"Why  do  you  laugh?" 

"  You  have  queer  notions  of  what  is  pretty." 

"  Mine's  worse,  I'm  called  Bob." 

"  Bob !  Yes,  that  is  much  worse.  Bob.  Bob. 
Bob.  It's  very  short,  and  easy;  but  it's  very 
funny." 

"  My  sister  always  calls  me  Bob — every  one  does, 
in  fact." 

"  You  have  a  sister  then.     What  is  her  name?  " 

"  Sylvia." 

"  Now  that  is  a  pretty  name." 

"  Not  always.    She  gets  called  Silly,  sometimes." 

"That's  monstrous.     Is  she  angry?" 

"  Not  a  bit.    You  see  these  are  really  pet  names." 

"  Oh !  "  She  was  silent  a  moment,  and  then 
said :  "  And  are  we  to  be  Bob  and  Peggy  to  one 
another?  " 

"  I  guess  so,  except  when  we  quarrel.  Then  it 
will  be  Robert  and  Margaret.  But  it  will  only  be 
until  to-morrow." 

"  To-morrow?  " 

"  When  we  reach  Cracow,  you  know." 

"  Shall  we  get  there  to-morrow  ?  " 


48      IN  THE  CAUSE  OF  FREEDOM 

"  We  ought  to." 

"  All  right— Bob."  She  said  it  with  a  sly  little 
laugh. 

"  You'll  soon  get  used  to  it,  Peggy.  And  now 
I'll  get  you  to  carry  my  heavy  coat,  and  if  you'll 
shake  him  up  we'll  trot  for  a  bit.  The  sooner  we've 
put  a  mile  or  two  between  us  and  Bratinsk  the 
better." 


CHAPTER  V 

AT  PULTA 

WE  kept  up  a  fair  pace  for  nearly  an  hour, 
the  horse  moving  at  a  slow,  loping  canter, 
with  spells  of  walking  for  me  to  recover  breath; 
and  in  this  way  we  covered  six  or  seven  miles, 
which  brought  us  to  the  foot  of  the  steep  rugged 
hills  that  divide  Bratinsk  from  Pulta. 

"  We've  about  a  mile  and  a  half  climb  here,  then 
a  stretch  of  a  mile  or  so  along  the  top,  and  after 
that  a  tremendous  hill  down  into  Pulta,"  I  told 
"  Peggy,"  as  we  pulled  up. 

"  Are  you  not  tired  ?  " 

"  No.  I  could  cover  a  lot  of  ground  at  that  jog 
trot  I'm  pretty  tough,  you  see." 

"  Ride  up  the  hill  and  let  me  walk." 

"  Not  a  bit  of  it.  We'll  push  on  as  we  are,  if 
you  don't  mind."  I  had  no  breath  left  for  talking, 
so  I  plodded  on  in  silence.  There  had  been  so  much 
to  do  in  the  interval  since  we  had  left  the  Devil's 
Staircase  that  I  seemed  to  have  had  no  time  to  think 
of  anything  except  the  pressing  affair  of  the  mo- 
ment. But  I  had  time  now,  as  I  strode  up  the  hill ; 
and  for  the  first  time  I  seemed  to  awake  to  a  recog- 
nition of  the  supreme  confidence  and  unquestioning 
trust  which  Volna  showed  in  me. 

49 


50      IN  THE  CAUSE  OF  FREEDOM 

The  night  was  very  dark;  we  were  miles  from 
everywhere;  she  knew  nothing  of  me,  and  had  only 
seen  me  first  some  eight  or  nine  hours  before;  and 
yet  she  rode  by  my  side  as  contentedly  as  though 
we  had  been  friends  for  life,  and  were  just  out  for  a 
sort  of  conventional  picnic  in  conventional  hours. 
The  pluck  of  it  appealed  to  me  as  much  as  any- 
thing. 

"  You  are  a  wonderful  girl,  Peggy,"  I  exclaimed 
involuntarily. 

"  Peggy?  Do  you  know,  I  think  I  begin  to  like 
that  name.  I  have  been  saying  it  over  and  over 
to  myself  during  the  ride.  But  why  am  I  wonder- 
ful? I  wish  I  could  get  used  to  saying  Bob.  But 
I  have  a  sort  of  something  in  the  throat  that  seems 
to  jump  up  and  stop  me." 

"  Ah,  that's  a  spasm  of  the  naming  tissues.  One 
only  has  it  when  a  name  is  fresh.  You'll  get  over 
that.  The  best  cure  is  to  say  it  often." 

"  Is  it,  Bob?    But  why  am  I  wonderful?  " 

"  You  do  this  unconventional  thing  as  though 
it  were  the  most  ordinary  thing  in  the  world !  " 

"  Do  you  mean  I  oughtn't  to  trust — my  brother 
Bob?  You  see,  I  just  can't  help  myself.  I  had 
to  trust  you.  Besides,  if  you  knew  " — she  broke 
off,  and  after  a  pause  added  a  little  eagerly — "  you 
understand,  don't  you  ?  " 

"  I  understand  that  chance  has  given  me  a  very 
delightful  sister." 

"  Why,  didn't  you  begin  by  keeping  my  secret 
from  that  stationmaster — about  Mary  Smith.  I 


AT  PULTA  51 

felt  like — like  nothing  I  ever  felt  before  when  he 
brought  you  up  and  said  you  were  English." 

"  You  tried  your  best  to  speak  English." 

"  It  was  like — like  a  glorious  dream  come  true 
when  you  looked  so  grave  and  answered  me  in 
German.  I'm  not  used  to  having  people  do  kind 
things  for  me,  except  my  dear  mother.  And  when 
we  stood  outside  the  station,  I — well,  I'd  have  given 
anything  just  to  have  unloaded  my  whole  stock  of 
trouble  to  you." 

"Poor  Peggy!" 

"  No,  not  Peggy,  she  hasn't  any  troubles  of  that 
sort  yet.  They  are — Bob's.  But  it's  poor  Volna; 
and  Peggy  will  soon  be  Volna  again." 

I  did  not  know  how  to  answer  this.  There  was 
such  a  touch  of  sadness  in  it :  so  I  said  nothing. 

"  May  I  tell  you  ?  "  she  asked  presently. 

"  Sylvia  always  tells  me  hers ;  so  I  know  how  to 
keep  a  secret." 

"  I  told  you  I  had  a  half-sister  and  brother,  didn't 
I?" 

"  Are  they  like  you  at  all  ?  " 

"  No,  no.  They  are  both  members  of  this  terrible 
Fraternity — revolutionaries.  My  father  was  one 
and  lost  his  life  in  the  cause.  My  uncle,  Count 
Peter — he  was  the  brother  of  my  father's  first  wife 
—has  always  dominated  our  family:  even  my  poor 
dear  mother." 

"  Is  she  involved  with  the  Fraternity,  too  ?  " 

"  No,  and  yet  yes.  She  has  no  sympathy  with 
the  movement  at  all;  but  my  uncle  influenced  her 


52      IN  THE  CAUSE  OF  FREEDOM 

and  she  has  given  large  sums  of  money.  She  is 
rich,  you  know,  and,  if  it  is  found  out,  the  govern- 
ment would  be  glad  to  get  any  pretext  for  confis- 
cating her  fortune.  They  would  throw  her  into 
prison,  and  it  would  kill  her." 

"  But  surely  your  uncle  was  not  so  mad  as  to 
leave  anything  implicating  her  in  existence." 

"  I  wish  I  could  think  that.  It  may  be  so ;  but 
only  this  morning  he  warned  me  that  if  these  papers 
did  not  get  to  Cracow  and  a  raid  was  made  there, 
things  would  be  found  which  would  place  her  in 
danger." 

I  thought  some  things  about  Count  Peter  which 
I  did  not  express.  "  I  hope  he  was  exaggerating 
matters,"  I  said. 

"  We  have  not  been  happy  at  home  because  I 
would  never  join  in  any  of  these  miserable  conspir- 
acies. My  sister  Katinka,  and  Paul  too,  always 
upbraided  me." 

"  You  put  your  sister  first,  I  notice." 

"  She  influences  Paul.  She  is  very  strong  willed, 
and  very — very  zealous  for  the  '  Fraternity.' ' 

"  I  don't  think  you  would  make  a  very  formidable 
conspirator,  you  know." 

"  It  is  not  that,  exactly.  I  am  too  much  of  a 
coward,  I  know.  But  mother's  fortune  comes  to 
me  and — oh,  this  miserable  money ;  they  want  it  for 
the  cause." 

"Phew!"  I  whistled.  "I  begin  to  under- 
stand." 


AT  PULTA  53 

"  You  thought  it  strange,  I  expect,  that  I  was  so 
little  affected  by  my  uncle's  fate ;  but  I " 

"  Don't  say  any  more  if  it  worries  you,"  I  said 
when  she  paused. 

"  Oh,  I  must  tell  you ;  only — the  fact  is,  I  was 
always  afraid  of  him  and  he  brought  me  away  from 
home  this  time,  saying  only  that  I  was  to  go  on  a 
visit  to  some  friends;  but  when  we  were  near  Bra- 
tinsk  he  told  me  what  the  real  object  was  and — and 
that  mother  and  he  had  agreed  that  I  was  to  be 
married." 

"  Married !  "  I  exclaimed. 

"  Married  to  a  man  who  is  high  up  in  the  Frater- 
nity, and  that  I  should  not  go  back  home  until — 
until  that  was  done." 

I  thought  more  things  about  Count  Peter — 
stronger  and  harsher  things  too,  this  time. 

"  I  had  not  heard  this  an  hour  before  you  saw 
me  at  the  station." 

"  No  wonder  you  looked  troubled." 

"  I  stayed  there  hoping  to  get  a  train  back  to 
Warsaw.  I  meant  to  run  away.  There  is  another 
reason,  a  terrible  entanglement,  which  made  me  so 
eager  to  get  back." 

"  Involving  you  ?  " 

"Yes,  I'll  tell  you  all  about  it  some  time.  It 
closely  concerns  my  mother's  safety,  too." 

"What  brought  your  uncle  to  Bratinsk?" 

"  Affairs  of  the  Fraternity ;  to  consult  with  one 
of  the  leaders." 


54      IN  THE  CAUSE  OF  FREEDOM 

"  Well,  I  won't  say  all  I  think  of  your  uncle  for 
having  involved  you  in  all  this." 

"  He  is  dead.  Perhaps  if  he  had  not  been  killed 
he  would  have  listened  to  me." 

"  Perhaps !  "  But  I  had  my  own  opinion.  "  You 
are  right.  Volna  has  had  her  troubles." 

"  I  could  not  feel  so  sorry  for  him  as  I  should,  if 
— if  things  had  been  different.  I  am  glad  I  have 
told  you.  It's  such  a  relief  to  have  told  some  one. 
'And  now  you  know  all  about  me." 

"  Did  you  manage  to  write  to  your  mother  from 
Bratinsk?" 

"  Yes,  just  a  short  note — that  all  was  well  with 
me." 

"  We  must  try  to  keep  it  so,  too.  Here  we  are 
at  the  top  of  the  hill.  Now  we'll  push  along  again : 
and  then,  the  first  train  for  Cracow." 

We  soon  covered  the  flat  along  the  top  and  I 
pointed  out  to  her  the  twinkling  lights  of  Pulta  be- 
low us. 

"  How  quickly  we've  come,"  she  cried. 

"  We  must  have  a  straight  story  to  tell.  I  shall 
say  we  are  driving  in  from  Vashtic — a  place  on  the 
other  side  of  Pulta — and  that  our  carriage  broke 
down  and  we  had  to  continue  the  journey  in  this 
fashion.  I  shall  ask  whether  Mr.  Trevor,  a  tall  fair 
man,  was  in  the  train  at  the  time  of  the  wreck. 
But  you'll  leave  the  lies  for  Bob  to  tell  of  course." 

"  How  bluntly  you  put  it." 

"  Oh,  we  can't  help  telling  some.  But  it's  in  a 
good  cause;  so  we  must  hope  they'll  pass  as  white 
ones." 


AT  PULTA  55 

I  began  to  understand  that  night  that  artistic 
lying  is  really  a  very  difficult  accomplishment,  when 
inquisitive  officials  have  to  be  satisfied. 

I  found  the  railway  station  at  Pulta  in  the  hands 
of  the  police.  It  had  been  taken  into  custody  so  to 
speak.  When  anything  happens  in  Russian  Poland, 
it  immediately  becomes  an  object  of  suspicion;  and 
any  one  seeking  information  is  at  once  suspected  of 
complicity.  An  officer  stopped  us  and  asked  in  a 
peremptory  manner :  "  .Who  are  you  and  what  do 
you  want  ? " 

"  There  has  been  an  accident,  I  believe." 

"  Who  are  you  and  what  do  you  want?  Answer." 
A  little  more  sharpness  in  the  tone. 

"  I  am  an  Englishman,  Robert  Garrett,  and  this 
is  my  sister.  We  wish  to  know  whether  a  friend, 
Mr.  James  Trevor,  of  London,  has  been  hurt  in  the 
accident ! " 

"What  accident?" 

"  The  accident  to  the  Cracow  express ! " 

"  Who  told  you  there  had  been  an  accident  ?  " 

"  I  heard  it  at  Vashtic." 

"  Who  told  you  there  had  been  an  accident  ?  "  he 
repeated. 

"  It  seemed  to  be  generally  known.  The  ser- 
vants in  the  house  where  I  was  staying  heard  it 
somewhere?  " 

"  What  are  the  servants'  names?  " 

"  I  don't  know.  I  think  the  man  who  told  me  was 
called  Paul.  But  what  I  want  to  know— 

"  Where  were  you  staying  at  Vashtic?  "  he  inter- 
rupted. 


56      IN  THE  CAUSE  OF  FREEDOM 

"  What  can  that  matter.  Mr.  Trevor  of  Lon- 
don  " 

"  Ah !  You  refuse  to  answer  ?  "  He  turned  away 
and  beckoned  to  a  companion,  with  whom  he  con- 
ferred, nodding  toward  us.  Then  turned  to  me 
again.  "How  did  you  get  here?" 

"  I  started  in  a  caleche  but  the  wheel  came  off 
and  we  had  to  finish  the  journey  in  this  fashion." 

"Which  wheel?" 

"  The  left  hind  wheel." 

"Whose  carriage  was  it?" 

"  I  hired  it  from  Gorlas  Malstrom."  My  invent- 
ive faculty  for  names  was  getting  strained. 

"Where  does  he  live?" 

"  At  Vashtic  close  to  the  hotel" 

"Which  hotel?" 

"  The  Imperial."  I  remembered  the  name  of  a 
place  where  I  once  had  lunch. 

"  Are  you  staying  there  ?  " 

"  I  am  not  going  back." 

"How  long  were  you  there?" 

"  Not  more  than  an  hour  or  two." 

"  Where  were  you  before?  " 

My  local  geography  not  being  strong  enough  to 
stand  a  fusillade  of  this  kind,  I  threw  up  an  earth- 
work of  anger. 

"Look  here,  do  you  want  me  to  give  you  a 
history  of  my  tour  with  all  particulars  of  my  hotel 
bills  since  I  left  London  ?  " 

"  Ah,  you  refuse  to  answer,"  he  said  again,  stol- 
idly regarding  me  with  a  gloomy  stare  of  suspicion. 


AT  PULTA  57 

"  Oh,  no ;  but  I've  had  enough  of  your  imper- 
tinent curiosity.  I  am  an  Englishman,  let  me  see 
your  superior  officer." 

"Go  away,"  he  said  curtly. 

"  I  demand  to  see " 

"  Go  away ;  or  you  will  be  arrested." 

Then  I  had  an  inspiration.  I  said,  with  a  show 
of  great  indignation :  "  Very  well.  I'll  go,  and 
what's  more  I'll  go  by  the  first  train  to  Cracow  and 
lay  the  matter  before  the  British  Consul.  When  is 
the  first  train?  You'll  see  whether  you  can  smash 
up  English  travellers  in  your  infernal  trains  and 
then  refuse  their  friends  any  information." 

This  appeared  to  make  an  impression.  He  hesi- 
tated, spoke  to  his  companion,  and  then  said :  "  Come 
back  in  the  morning.  There  is  no  train  until  eleven 
o'clock." 

I  had  gained  the  information  I  needed;  but  I 
kept  up  my  pretence  of  anger,  muttering  and  grum- 
bling and  mumbling  about  what  the  British  Consul 
would  do,  and  so  on,  as  I  turned  the  horse's  head 
and  moved  off. 

"  Bad  luck  again,"  I  whispered  to  Volna.  "  No 
train  to-night.  You  may  as  well  try  to  get  a  night's 
rest." 

"  It's  a  dark  wood  that  has  no  clearing,"  she  said 
cheerily.  "  You  need  rest  too,  I  am  sure." 

We  went  off  to  find  a  hotel :  and  presently  Volna 
whispered :  "  One  of  the  men  is  following  us." 

"  The  best  thing  we  can  do  is  to  make  use  of  him, 
then,"  said  I;  and  I  halted  to  let  him  come  up.  It 


58      IN  THE  CAUSE  OF  FREEDOM 

was  the  companion  of  the  man  who  had  questioned 
me,  and  I  resolved  to  try  a  different  method  with 
him. 

I  took  out  a  gold  piece  and  let  him  see  it.  "  You 
have  been  told  off  to  follow  me,  I  suppose  ?  " 

He  glanced  at  the  money  and  thought  I  was  go- 
ing to  bribe  him.  "  I  have  only  my  duty  to  do,"  he 
said. 

"  If  you'll  be  guide  instead  of  follower  and  show 
me  where  my  sister  and  I  can  get  rooms,  I'll  give 
you  this." 

He  was  my  man  instantly.  "  There  will  be  no 
difficulty  about  that.  The  accident  on  the  line  has 
filled  up  the  place,  but  I  can  manage  it  for  you. 
You  are  English  ?  "  he  said,  as  we  walked. 

"  I  only  wanted  to  see  if  my  poor  friend,  Trevor, 
was  in  that  smash.  But  you  heard  what  passed  ?  " 

He  shrugged  his  shoulders  and  grinned.  "  You 
did  not  ask  in  the  right  way ; "  and  he  glanced  at 
the  money  I  had  given  him.  "  To-morrow  it  will 
be  all  right.  There  is  a  train  to  Cracow  at  eleven 
o'clock.  I  shall  be  there.  No  Englishman  was 
hurt  in  the  accident.  You  may  feel  quite  at  ease." 

"  I  am  glad  to  hear  that,"  I  said.  I  was ;  but  not 
for  the  reasons  he  thought. 

He  earned  his  gold  piece;  for  he  soon  found 
accommodation  for  us  and  for  the  horse;  and  bade 
us  good-night,  repeating  his  assurances  that  all 
would  be  well  in  the  morning. 


CHAPTER  VI 

VERY  SISTERLY 

VOLNA  was  down  before  me  the  next  morning 
waiting  in  a  little  room  where  we  had  had 
supper. 

"  I  guessed  Bob  would  be  tired  so  I  would  not 
have  him  called,"  she  said.  "  I  have  been  up  an 
hour  or  more." 

"  And  Peggy,  how  is  she  ?  " 

"  Hungry.     And  breakfast  is  ready." 

"You  slept  well?" 

"  When  I  had  stopped  thinking.  I  couldn't  help 
it,"  she  said  in  answer  to  my  shake  of  the  head.  "  I 
was  saying  my  lesson  over  and  over,  lest  I  should 
forget  it.  Do  you  know  it  ?  " 

"Lesson?" 

"  All  the  names  you  mentioned  so  glibly  last  night 
at  the  station." 

I  laughed.  "  Oh,  we  shan't  need  to  remember. 
We  shan't .  have  any  more  bother.  That  man's 
hint  as  to  how  to  ask  questions  will  carry  us  through. 
You'll  see." 

"  Well,  we  must  be  quick,  it's  nearly  ten  o'clock." 

"  We've  half  an  hour.  And  we're  developing  a 
knack  of  doing  a  good  deal  in  half  an  hour." 

"  I  think  I  shall  be  a  little  afraid  of  you." 

"Why?" 

59 


6o       IN  THE  CAUSE  OF  FREEDOM 

"  You  tell  them  so  readily." 

"Ah,  that's  Bob  Garrett.  Don't  worry  about 
him.  He  won't  tell  them  to  you." 

"  I  know  that." 

"  I  think  that  for  a  pair  of  dangerous  conspirators 
we  keep  up  our  spirits  capitally." 

"  I  shouldn't  be  able  to  without  you.  I  don't 
know  what  I  should  have  done,  indeed,  nor  how  to 
thank  you." 

"  .Wouldn't  a  man  be  a  brute  who  didn't  do  his 
best  to  look  after  his  sister?  " 

"  You  make  light  of  everything." 

"  Well,  you  can  thank  me  at  about  six  or  seven 
o'clock  this  evening.  We  shall  be  in  Cracow  then, 
and  the  papers  will  be  out  of  our  hands  and  off  our 
minds." 

"And  after  that?" 

"  By  Jove.  I  don't  know.  I  haven't  thought 
about  that.  One  thing  at  a  time  and — Cracow 
first.  We  must  go." 

We  walked  up  to  the  station  and  found  a  most 
welcome  change  in  the  attitude  of  the  police.  Our 
friend  of  the  preceding  night  was  looking  out  for 
us,  and  he  had  evidently  let  it  be  known  that  there 
were  gold  pieces  to  be  earned.  Everybody  received 
us  with  smiles.  Even  the  man  who  had  acted  the 
inquisitor's  part  overnight  came  up  and  was  almost 
profuse  in  his  apologies. 

He  had  not  known  that  I  was  an  English  milord ; 
my  appearance  at  that  time  and  in  such  a  way  had 
aroused  curiosity;  duty  compelled  them  all  to  be 


VERY  SISTERLY  61 

suspicious;  there  were  dangerous  people  about;  I 
had  probably  heard  of  the  discovered  plot;  and  so 
on. 

I  understood.  I  took  out  some  gold  coins  and 
fingered  them  carelessly.  His  eyes  lighted  with 
greed  as  he  gazed  at  them. 

"About  the  accident?"  I  asked. 

"  There  has  been  a  bad  accident ;  but  no  one  of 
the  name  of  Trevor,  no  Englishman  at  all,  was  in 
the  train.  I  have  made  a  special  investigation,"  he 
added  insinuatingly. 

"  I'm  sorry  to  have  given  you  the  trouble ;  but 
thank  you." 

"  It  is  no  trouble,  only  a  pleasure  to  be  of  some 
small  service  to  an  English  milord." 

"  I  am  greatly  relieved,"  I  said.  "  You  will 
probably  have  had  to  pay  some  one  for  the  work. 
Permit  me  to  repay  you ; "  and  I  gave  him  a  fifty 
rouble  note.  His  good  will  was  cheap  at  a  five 
pound  note;  but  he  seemed  amazed  at  so  generous 
a  tip.  His  face  beamed  as  he  pocketed  it. 

"  Really  it  is  not  necessary,"  he  said.  "  If  I  can 
be  of  any  further  assistance,  pray  tell  me." 

"  My  sister  and  I  were  thinking  of  going  to 
Cracow,"  I  said  indifferently.  "  Is  the  line  safe,  do 
you  think  ?  " 

"  You  still  wish  to  see  the  British  Consul  there?  " 
This  with  just  a  shade  of  anxiety. 

"  Oh,  dear  no — unless  it  is  to  express  my  high 
opinion  of  the  courtesy  shown  me  here.  Last  night 
is  forgotten.  I  quite  understand." 


62       IN  THE  CAUSE  OF  FREEDOM 

"  The  train  will  start  at  eleven.  It  is  usual — a 
mere  form  of  course  in  your  case — to  ask  for  pass- 
ports when  issuing  tickets  for  stations  beyond  the 
frontier." 

"Here  they  are;"  and  I  took  them  out  of  my 
pocket  book  making  sure  that  he  should  see  there 
was  plenty  of  money  in  it.  "  Robert  Garrett  and 
Margaret  Garrett,  my  sister." 

He  just  glanced  at  them  and  with  a  bow  to  Volna, 
returned  them. 

"  Shall  I  show  you  where  to  get  your  tickets?  " 
He  was  making  everything  delightfully  smooth  for 
us. 

"  I  suppose  we  shall  reach  Cracow  by  about 
four?"  I  asked  casually,  as  I  took  out  my  cigar 
case. 

"  Scarcely  that,  I  fear.  The  traffic  is  disorgan- 
ized and  the  direct  line  has  been  closed.  You  will 
travel  by  way  of  Bratinsk  and  change  there;  and 
then  go  round  by  the  loop  which  joins  the  main  line 
again  at  Solden." 

The  ill  news  was  so  unexpected  that  it  caught  me 
right  off  my  guard.  To  go  to  Bratinsk  meant  walk- 
ing right  into  the  hands  of  the  men  who  were  hunt- 
ing for  us. 

To  cover  my  sudden  confusion,  I  let  my  cigar 
case  fall,  and  as  the  official  stooped  to  pick  it  up,  I 
caught  Volna's  look  of  dire  dismay,  and  shot  her  a 
warning  glance. 

"  You  smoke  of  course,"  I  said  to  him,  and  as  we 


VERY  SISTERLY  63 

lit  our  cigars,  I  was  thinking  how  on  earth  to  get 
out  of  the  difficulty. 

Then  Volna  gave  another  proof  of  her  quick- 
wittedness.  "  Ought  you  to  smoke  just  yet,  Bob?  " 
she  asked  in  a  snappy  sisterly  tone.  "  You  know 
what  the  doctor  said  about  your  heart." 

I  took  the  cue.  "  You're  always  interfering, 
Peggy,"  I  said,  very  testily.  "  I  wish  you 
wouldn't." 

The  police  official  affected  not  to  hear  this  little 
interchange  of  family  amenities  and  discreetly 
looked  away. 

"  I  only  do  it  for  your  good,"  she  rapped  back, 
with  a  great  air  of  superiority.  "  You  complained 
of  that  feeling,  you  know.  But  please  yourself. 
You  always  do." 

"  Rubbish.  It's  only  because  you  know  I  want 
to  go  and  you  want  to  stay."  She  shrugged  her 
shoulders  and  turned  away. 

"If  you  are  going,  the  time  is  close,"  said  the 
official. 

"  Of  course  I  am  going ;  "  and  I  scowled  at  Volna 
and  took  out  some  money.  "  Where  do  we  get  the 
tickets?" 

He  was  turning  to  show  me  when  I  let  the  coins 
fall  and  the  cigar  drop  from  my  lips  as  I  pressed 
one  hand  to  my  heart — which,  by  the  way,  was  as 
sound  as  a  bell — and  clutched  him  with  the  other 
for  support. 

"  I  knew  it  by  the  look  about  your  eyes.     I  saw 


64       IN  THE  CAUSE  OF  FREEDOM 

it  coming,"  said  Volna,  unsympathetically,  as  she 
stooped  to  pick  up  the  money,  and  the  man  helped 
me  to  a  seat.  "  You  will  do  these  things.  Please 
lay  him  straight  down  and  get  him  some  water,  or 
better,  a  drop  of  brandy."  She  took  off  my  hat 
and  fanned  me  with  her  handkerchief.  "  It's 
nothing  serious,"  she  said  to  the  others  who  came 
round.  "  He'll  be  better  in  a  moment.  Thank 
you,"  this  to  the  man  who  came  back  with  the 
brandy.  "Give  him  air,  please."  She  was  most 
business-like  and  sisterly — as  though  I  had  been 
in  the  habit  of  fainting  daily  and  she  of  restoring 
me. 

I  came  round,  of  course;  but  not  until  the  train 
had  left  and  the  question  of  our  return  to  Bratinsk 
was  settled. 

"  Perhaps  you  are  satisfied  now,"  I  said  to  Volna 
most  ungraciously,  as  I  sat  up. 

"  How  absurd  you  are,  Bob.  I  didn't  give  you 
the  cigar." 

"  When  is  the  next  train  ?  "  I  asked  the  official. 

"  Not  until  to-night." 

"  There  you  are,"  I  said  to  Volna  with  a  broth- 
erly readiness  to  put  all  the  blame  on  her.  "  What 
now?  " 

"  This  gentleman  said  there  was  some  fine 
scenery  here;  and  a  ride  or  drive  would  do  you 
good." 

"  Scenery ! "  I  cried  with  a  fine  contempt. 
"  Well,  I  suppose  we  can't  sit  about  the  station  all 
day.  But  do  as  you  please ;  "  and  she  walked  out 


VERY  SISTERLY  65 

of  the  station.  I  could  have  laughed  at  the  excel- 
lent affectation  of  sisterly  discontent. 

The  police  official  sympathized  with  me — it  was 
I  who  had  tipped  him — and  expressed  his  feeling 
with  a  deprecating  smile  and  shrug  and  a  lifting 
of  the  brows. 

"  I  suppose  it's  the  only  thing  to  do,"  I  murmured 
as  I  rose. 

"  It  is  perhaps  for  the  best  after  all  that  you  did 
not  catch  the  train.  There  is  you  baggage,"  he 
said. 

"Baggage?" 

"  Remembering  what  you  said  last  night  about 
the  accident  to  your  carriage  on  the  way  from 
Vashtic,  and  thinking  you  might  need  the  baggage 
in  it,  I  sent  out  this  morning  to  have  it  brought 
here." 

"Did  you?  That's  really  very  friendly  and 
obliging,"  I  managed  to  answer  quite  cordially, 
while  wishing  him  at  the  devil  for  his  inter- 
ference. 

"  What  shall  we  do  with  it?" 

"  Oh,  just  keep  it  at  the  station  here  till  I  come 
back  for  that  evening  train.  You'll  know  it  easily. 
Two  leather  portmanteaus;  one  marked  '  R.  G.' 
and  one  '  M.  G.,'  London.  I'll  go  and  tell  my  sister. 
She'll  be  as  delighted  as  I  am  at  your  thought- 
fulness.  It  was  only  that  which  made  her  wish  to 
remain  here  for  the  day." 

I  went  after  Volna,  who  was  walking  toward  the 
little  town. 


66      IN  THE  CAUSE  OF  FREEDOM 

"  That's  a  nice  thoughtful  fellow.  He  has  sent 
out  someone  to  find  our  luggage  in  the  broken- 
down  trap  and  bring  it  in.  I  told  him  how  glad 
you'd  be." 

"  Should  I  go  back  and  thank  him?  " 

"  I  don't  think  it's  necessary,  you  can  do  that 
when  we  get  back  this  evening.  We  are  going  for 
a  ride  now — and  the  sooner  we're  off  the  better." 
I  went  to  the  stable  where  my  horse  was,  thinking 
how  to  get  over  the  rather  awkward  difficulty  of 
securing  a  second  animal. 

I  did  not  intend  to  return  to  Pulta;  and  if  I 
hired  the  horse  I  should  not  be  able  to  return  it. 
To  buy  it  might  create  suspicion,  as  a  man  does 
not  purchase  a  horse  merely  to  go  for  a  ride — even 
in  that  horse-bartering  region;  and  I  had  no  wish 
to  turn  horse-thief. 

I  put  a  bold  face  on  the  matter  and  went  into 
the  stable  whistling.  An  ostler  was  grooming  my 
horse  and  the  owner  of  the  place  looking  on. 

"  That's  a  nice  looking  animal  of  yours,"  he 
said. 

"  Yes ;  and  as  good  as  he  looks." 

"  No  doubt.     Andreas  knows  a  good  horse." 

"Andreas?    Who's  he?" 

"  At  Bratinsk.     Where  you  got  him,  I  suppose." 

I  scented  danger  and  fenced.  "  I  suppose  you 
know  most  of  the  horses  round  about  here.  Will 
you  smoke  ?  "  And  I  gave  him  a  cigar. 

"  I  know  this  one.     I  sold  him  to  Andreas." 

"  Did  you  ?     Well,  I  don't  care  anything  about 


VERY  SISTERLY  67 

Andreas,  but  I  know  he's  a  good  horse  and  I 
want  to  hire  one  as  good  for  my  sister  to  ride 
to-day." 

"  I  can  find  you  one.  There  he  stands."  I  had 
a  look  at  him.  A  good  horse  I  saw  at  a  glance. 
"  I  like  his  looks,"  I  said. 

The  ostler  took  him  out  and  ran  him  up  and 
down.  Then  an  idea  occurred  to  me,  involving 
some  of  the  white  lies  of  necessity  however.  I 
expressed  a  very  exaggerated  admiration. 

"Carry  a  lady?" 

"  Carry  a  baby,"  was  the  reply. 

"Then  I  tell  you  what  I'll  do  if  you'll  agree. 
We're  going  to  Cracow  for  a  couple  of  days  and 
coming  back;  and  when  we  come  back  we  shall 
want  two  horses.  I'll  buy  him  from  you  if  you 
can  find  me  a  couple  of  saddles,  and  if  we  can  come 
to  terms  for  your  taking  care  of  both  the  horses 
while  we  stay  here." 

It  did  not  take  very  long  to  conclude  the  bargain, 
and  Volna  and  I  were  soon  mounted. 

Just  as  we  were  starting  my  friend  of  the  police 
came  up. 

"Going  for  the  ride  then?"  he  asked,  know- 
ingly. 

"  Oh,  yes.  By  the  way,  has  that  luggage  of  mine 
come  in  yet?  " 

"No.  They  ought  to  have  been  back  long 
before  now." 

"  That's  a  nuisance.  My  sister  has  to  do  with- 
out her  habit." 


68      IN  THE  CAUSE  OF  FREEDOM 

"  She  looks  very  charming,"  he  replied,  with  a 
bow. 

"  What  time  must  we  be  back  for  that  train  ?  " 

"  Six  o'clock.  But  why  not  ride  to  Solden,  it's 
not  more  than  twenty  miles  or  so.  You  could  take 
the  train  there." 

"  Oh,  no.    We're  going  the  other  way." 

"Are  you  ever  coming,  Bob?"  asked  Volna, 
sharply. 

He  stepped  aside  with  another  significant  shrug 
of  the  shoulders  and  with  a  laugh  I  rode  off. 

"  You  do  the  vinegary  sister  to  the  life,"  I  said. 

"  There  was  cause  then.  I  caught  sight  of  that 
police  agent  from  Bratinsk  in  the  distance." 

"  By  Jove ! "  I  exclaimed ;  and  we  clattered  off 
through  the  narrow  streets  and  as  soon  as  we  were 
clear  of  the  town  gave  our  horses  their  heads. 


CHAPTER  VII 

THE   LUCK   TURNS 

TT  OLNA  was  thoroughly  at  home  in  the  saddle, 
*  and  it  was  easy  to  see  that  she  had  been 
accustomed  to  horses  all  her  life.  She  had  a  per- 
fect seat;  and  that  firm  hand  and  control  which 
bring  out  the  best  there  is  in  a  horse  and  make  him 
understand  that  the  master  is  up. 

It  was  delightful  to  watch  her;  and  as  we  kept 
at  it  in  that  first  rattling  stretch,  I  believe  that  in 
the  sheer  exhilaration  of  the  ride,  we  forgot  every- 
thing, even  the  unwelcome  appearance  of  the  police 
agent  from  Bratinsk. 

But  neither  the  pace  nor  the  oblivion  could  last 
for  ever,  and  when  we  drew  rein  at  the  foot  of  a 
hill  we  came  back  to  a  recollection  of  the  load  of 
our  worries. 

"Wasn't  that  glorious?"  she  cried,  her  cheeks 
glowing,  and  her  eyes  shining,  as  she  stretched 
forward  and  patted  her  horse's  neck. 

"You  ride  magnificently.  How  you  would 
enjoy  a  run  with  the  hounds  in  England ! " 

"  I  have  read  about  it.  I  love  horses.  I  can 
keep  in  the  saddle  all  day.  I  have  done  it  at  home." 
Then  her  face  clouded.  "  How  selfish !  I  had  almost 
forgotten,"  she  added. 

69 


70      IN  THE  CAUSE  OF  FREEDOM 

"  We  are  doing  all  we  can,"  I  replied.  "  Are  you 
sure  that  the  man  you  saw  was  that  police  agent?  " 

"Could  I  forget  him?" 

"You  don't  think  he  saw  us?" 

"  No.  He  was  talking  very  earnestly  to  some- 
one. But  I  recognized  him  instantly." 

"  I'd  give  something  to  know  what  brought  him 
to  Pulta." 

"  He  was  following  us,  surely." 

"  We  must  hope  not.  If  Michel  did  his  work 
properly,  my  horse  with  your  uncle's  coat  will  have 
been  found  a  good  many  miles  on  the  other  side  of 
Bratinsk;  and  his  men  should  be  hunting  for 
us  there.  But  I  can't  say  I  like  the  look  of  the 
thing." 

"What  shall  we  do?" 

"We'd  better  try  and  think  what  he'll  do.  I 
had  intended  to  take  the  hint  which  the  man  at 
Pulta  dropped,  to  ride  to  Solden,  and  take  the  train 
from  there.  But  if  the  other  man  picks  up  our 
trail  there,  he'll  set  the  wires  going  and  we  shall 
find  someone  waiting  for  us  at  Solden." 

"  How  far  is  it  to  Cracow  ?  Could  we  ride  all 
the  way?  I  could  ride  all  day  and  all  night  too,  if 
necessary,  as  long  as  the  horses  will  last  out." 

"  We  don't  know  the  road.  I  don't  even  know 
where  we  are  now.  When  you  saw  that  man,  I  just 
rattled  off  at  hazard.  I  know  Cracow  is  pretty  well 
west  of  Pulta,  a  little  bit  south  too,  and  I  guess 
we  are  on  the  right  road.  I  am  accustomed  to  take 
long  rides  and  besides  having  a  fairly  good  bump  of 


THE  LUCK  TURNS  71 

location,  always  carry  this ; "  and  I  showed  her  a 
small  compass  on  my  watch  chain. 

"  I  always  ride  by  the  sun,  but  then  I  know  the 
country  round  Warsaw  for  ever  so  many  miles." 

"  We  should  be  in  a  pretty  pickle  if  we  were 
lost,"  said  I, 

"The  pickle  would  be  much  hotter  if  it  was  a 
police  preserve." 

"  By  Jove,  it  would.  And  the  worst  of  it  is  that 
if  that  fellow  hears  of  us  at  Pulta,  he'll  know  the 
names  we've  taken." 

"  Poor  Bob,  I'm  getting  him  into  very  troubled 
waters." 

"  It's  not  Bob  or  Peggy  I'm  thinking  of,  it's 
Volna,  and  Volna's  mother.  Cracow  seems  a 
mighty  hard  place  to  reach;  but  I'm  going  to  get 
there  somehow." 

I  was  silent  for  a  while  thinking  over  the  problem. 
Volna's  suggestion  was  the  best  if  we  could  do  it — 
to  ride  all  the  way  to  Cracow.  But  it  was  no  light 
undertaking.  If  I  had  known  the  way,  I  should  not 
have  hesitated;  but  the  days  were  short  and 
although  the  sun  was  shining  brightly  enough  then, 
the  weather  looked  as  though  it  were  going  to 
change.  It  was  warmer;  and  when  a  spell  of  frost 
breaks  in  that  country,  it  generally  indicates  that 
rain  or  snow  is  coming.  To  be  lost  in  a  rain  or 
snow  storm  would  be  a  very  ugly  development  in- 
deed. 

There  was  moreover  the  awkward  question 
whether  we  were  likely  to  be  pursued.  On  the 


72      IN  THE  CAUSE  OF  FREEDOM 

other  hand  to  stop  at  Solden  appeared  to  be  even 
more  risky. 

Seeing1  me  thus  thoughtful,  Volna  broke  in. 
"  You  are  not  going  to  keep  anything  from  me,  are 
you.  Don't  do  that,  please?  Do  you  think  that 
man  is  likely  to  ride  after  us  from  Pulta  ?  " 

"  That  was  just  in  my  mind.  I  should  say  it  will 
depend  upon  how  soon  he  learns  anything  about  us. 
He  is  more  likely  to  trust  to  the  wires." 

"  It's  getting  very  exciting.  He  may  telegraph 
ahead  and  have  people  sent  out  to  stop  us.  I  sup- 
pose I  ought  not  to  say  so,  but  I  am  beginning  to 
feel  a  sort  of  keen  enjoyment." 

"  I  have  made  up  my  mind.  We'll  stick  to  the 
horses  and  avoid  the  trains.  But  we'll  try  and 
mislead  any  one  who  may  follow  us." 

We  had  already  passed  several  people  on  the  road. 
I  stopped  the  next  comer. 

"  Is  this  the  road  to  Solden  ?  "  I  asked  the  man, 
evidently  a  farmer. 

"  Yes,  one  of  them." 

".Straight  road?" 

"  As  straight  as  roads  are  in  these  parts,"  he 
replied,  with  a  grin. 

"  I  mean  do  I  have  to  turn  to  the  left  or  right?  " 

"  You'll  be  turning  most  -of  the  time.  You're 
from  Pulta,  aren't  you  ?  " 

"  It's  not  where  I'm  from  but  where  I'm  going 
that  concerns  me." 

"  All  right.  I  know  the  lady's  horse ;  "  and  on  he 
drove  without  any  more. 


THE  LUCK  TURNS  73 

"  Everybody  seems  to  know  everybody  else's 
horse  about  here,"  I  said.  "  If  it  weren't  awkward 
it  would  be  comical.  We'll  ride  on  and  try  the  next 
man." 

The  next  was  another  farmer.  A  surly  Russian 
who  understood  Polish  with  difficulty  and  spoke  it 
unintelligibly.  So  I  thanked  him  and  rode  on  no 
wiser. 

Three  or  four  miles  later  brought  us  to  a  village. 

"  Had  we  not  better  get  some  food  here  ?  "  asked 
Volna.  "  I  will  go  and  buy  it,  and  perhaps  can  find 
out  at  the  same  time  what  road  we  ought  to  take." 
So  we  dismounted,  and  I  waited  with  the  horses. 

Presently  a  priest  came  by,  and  bade  me  good-day 
with  a  smile. 

"  You  have  a  picturesque  place  here,  Father,"  I 
said.  "What  is  it  called?" 

"  Kervatje,"  he  answered,  and  we  began  to  talk. 
I  learnt  that  his  name  was  Father  Ambrose,  and 
after  some  while  he  asked,  "  You  are  a  foreigner  ?  " 

"  An  Englishman.  My  sister  is  with  me.  We 
were  going  to  Solden,  but  I  fear  have  lost  the  way." 

"  Oh,  no.  Solden  lies  across  the  hills  there.  A 
rough  road  but  fairly  direct.  The  only  point  of 
difficulty  is  just  over  the  brow  of  the  hill  where  the 
road  forks.  Take  that  to  the  right  or  you  will  go 
astray  and  might  find  yourselves  in  Cracow,  after 

some  forty  miles  or  so,  that  is "  and  he  smiled 

pleasantly. 

"  I'll  remember  what  you  said,"  I  replied,  "  and 
am  much  obliged  to  you." 


74      IN  THE  CAUSE  OF  FREEDOM 

"  It  is  a  pleasure.  I  have  been  in  England ;  and 
speak  English  a  little.  But  I  read  much."  We 
then  chatted  about  London  and  the  incidents  of  his 
visit  until  Volna  came  up. 

"  My  sister,"  I  said.  As  he  greeted  her  I  saw 
him  start  and  look  very  closely  at  her. 

"  How  do  you  do  ?  "  he  said  in  English,  to  her 
complete  discomfiture,  holding  out  his  hand.  I 
read  her  signals  of  distress  and  sailed  in  to  the 
rescue. 

"  My  sister  is  unfortunately  dumb,"  I  said. 

"  How  sad,"  he  exclaimed,  throwing  up  his 
hands.  Then  he  looked  puzzled.  "  She  bears  a 
remarkable  resemblance  to  a  very  beautiful  woman 
whom  I  knew  in  the  long  ago.  Twenty  years  and 
more.  She  is  a  Pole,  and  is  now  the  Countess  Dra- 
kona.  How  very  strange." 

"  Yes,  these  chance  likenesses  are  very  extra- 
ordinary," I  said,  gravely.  "  Come,  Peggy,  we 
must  get  on,"  I  added  to  Volna,  in  English,  and 
put  her  in  the  saddle  again. 

"  How  very  sad,"  he  repeated,  mournfully. 
"  And  yet  how  clever  of  her  to  be  able  to  make  her- 
self understood  in  buying  things." 

"  The  education  of  the  dumb  in  England  is  al- 
most perfect.  Signs  are  their  language,  you  know," 
I  replied,  as  I  shook  hands  with  him  and  mounted. 

He  looked  after  us  very  thoughtfully,  and  when 
presently  I  turned,  he  waved  his  hand  to  me  and  I 
saw  him  walk  a  few  paces  and  then  enter  the  shop 
where  Volna  had  made  her  purchases. 


THE  LUCK  TURNS  75 

"  I  think  we'll  rattle  on  again  for  a  bit.  He's 
going  to  find  out  that  yours  is  a  singular  form  of 
aphasia,  and  only  affects  your  knowledge  of  Eng- 
lish. Perhaps  he'll  class  it  as  a  case  for  the  scien- 
tists ;  but  more  likely  as  one  of  suspicious  ignorance." 

"  Who  can  he  be?  "  asked  Volna. 

"  He  gave  me  his  name  as  Father  Ambrose." 

"  I  have  heard  my  mother  speak  of  him." 

"  He  spoke  of  her  as  a  very  beautiful  woman." 

"  And  she  is  still  beautiful." 

"  And  he  said  how  closely  you  resembled 
her." 

Volna  laughed.  "  Bob  mustn't  be  conventional. 
That's  a  sort  of  ball-room  dandy's  speech.  And  no 
brother  talks  like  it." 

"  Brothers  don't  always  say  all  they  think." 

"  But  they  keep  their  thoughts  to  themselves." 

"  I  know  what  I  think  about  my  sister,"  said  I. 

She  smiled  again,  and  glanced  at  me.  "  Don't 
you  think  I  bought  a  huge  parcel,  Bob?  " 

"  If  we  eat  all  that,  it  will  last  us  farther  than 
Cracow.  But  I  know  what  it  means  generally,  when 
a  girl  goes  shopping." 

"Yes,  she  thinks  of  things  that  are  necessary. 
There  are  loaves  in  there  for  the  horses." 

"  I  never  thought  of  them,"  I  admitted. 

"  One  of  us  must  think  sensibly,"  she  retorted. 

"  True  for  you.  But  did  you  find  out  anything 
about  the  road  to  Solden  ?  " 

"  No.  A  woman  served  me,  and  she  knew  noth- 
ing." 


76      IN  THE  CAUSE  OF  FREEDOM 

"  Well,  I  found  out  from  the  priest.  At  the  top 
of  the  hill  yonder  the  road  forks  and  that  to  the 
left  will  take  us  to  Cracow,  forty  miles." 

"  I  wonder  what  he  is  thinking  now  he  knows  I 
am  no  mute." 

"  Men  make  all  sorts  of  mistakes,  and  I  shouldn't 
be  in  the  least  surprised  if  he  believes  we  are  just 
— running  away  together." 

"  Bob !  How  ridiculous ! "  she  cried,  with  a 
merry  laugh,  her  cheeks  aflush.  "  Let  us  get  on ;  " 
and  she  shook  the  reins,  and  dashed  on  ahead  from 
me. 

When  we  reached  the  forked  roads  at  the  top  of 
the  hill  I  glanced  at  my  watch.  It  was  nearly  half- 
past  three,  and  we  had  still  forty  miles  to  cover  on 
an  unknown  road ;  it  had  taken  us  some  three  hours 
to  do  about  twenty  miles  in  daylight  with  the  horses 
fresh — how  long  would  they  take  to  finish  the  jour- 
ney mostly  in  the  dark  ?  I  shook  my  head  dubiously 
over  the  sum. 

"  We'll  ride  on  a  couple  of  miles  or  so  and  then 
find  a  spot  for  our  picnic;  but  we  can't  spare  more 
than  half  an  hour  at  the  outside." 

Black  bread,  sausage,  and  village  cheese  do  not 
make  an  epicurean  lunch ;  but  Volna  and  I  had  rich 
hunger  sauce,  and  were  more  than  satisfied.  We 
fed  the  horses  while  we  were  eating,  to  save  time, 
and  in  half  an  hour  we  were  ready  for  the  road 
again.  There  was  no  longer  any  doubt  that  the 
weather  was  going  to  change.  As  we  mounted 
there  were  very  ominous  banks  of  dark  sullen 


THE  LUCK  TURNS  77 

clouds.  Rain  or  snow  would  fall  within  a  few 
hours :  but  I  could  only  hope  it  would  be  rain. 

"  I  fancy  we've  shaken  off  any  pursuit  even  if 
any  one  started  out  to  follow  us,"  I  said. 

"  We  are  going  to  have  some  weather,  too,  that 
will  help  us.  I  hope  Bob  doesn't  mind  riding  in 
the  wet." 

"  You  guessed  the  thought  in  my  mind,  eh  ?  " 

"  No.  I'm  used  to  reading  weather  signs.  The 
rain  never  hurts  me.  I've  been  out  for  hours  in  it. 
But  we  shan't  have  much  for  an  hour  or  two,  you'll 
find." 

"  We'd  better  make  the  most  of  our  time  then." 

We  rode  as  fast  as  we  dared  push  the  horses  in 
view  of  the  distance  to  be  covered.  I  eased  my 
animal  up  the  hills,  and  now  and  again  took  a  spell 
of  half  a  mile  or  so  on  foot ;  but  despite  this,  I  was 
concerned  to  find  that  before  we  had  covered 
another  twenty  miles  he  began  to  show  signs  of 
fatigue. 

Then  the  storm  burst  upon  us.  It  was  rain,  not 
snow;  but  rain  in  almost  tropical  force.  It  would 
not  have  been  so  bad,  had  we  known  the  road ;  but 
we  had  already  had  to  stop  several  times  to  make 
sure  we  were  going  right. 

For  two  hours  we  plodded  through  a  pelting 
storm  until  I  was  drenched  and  feared  that  Volna 
must  be  in  the  same  condition. 

"  I  wouldn't  care  if  I  could  see,"  she  said  once. 
It  was  pitch  dark,  and  we  could  only  go  at  a  walk- 
ing pace. 


78      IN  THE  CAUSE  OF  FREEDOM 

"  I  shouldn't  care  if  you  were  not  wet,"  I  an- 
swered, "  though  I  confess  I'd  like  to  know  where 
we  are." 

"  I  am  not  very  wet,"  she  said.  "  My  fur  cloak 
protects  me.  We  shall  get  somewhere  in  the  end." 

"  In  England  we  have  a  civilized  habit  of  putting 
up  sign  posts,"  I  grumbled,  as  we  came  to  another 
forked  road  and  I  was  at  a  loss  which  to  choose. 
"  All  the  roads  seem  to  be  twins  in  this  place." 

Which  way  to  choose  I  could  not  even  guess.  I 
tried  to  judge  which  was  the  better  road;  but  both 
appeared  equally  bad. 

"  Let  the  horses  decide,"  said  Volna. 

"  Yours  is  the  fresher  of  the  two,  and  better  able 
to  use  his  instinct. 

"  Yours  is  much  keener  to  get  to  a  stable,"  she 
laughed. 

I  walked  mine  back  a  little  distance  and  then 
gave  him  his  head.  He  walked  deliberately  to  the 
side  of  the  road,  and  began  to  crop  the  grass. 

Volna  tried  hers  then;  and  he  went  as  far  as  the 
fork  where  he  waited  for  the  other  to  join  him. 
Then  they  both  moved  on  to  the  left. 

"  So  be  it,"  said  I,  and  we  let  them  go  as  they 
would. 

"  It's  not  raining  so  fast,"  declared  Volna,  pres- 
ently. "  Shall  we  draw  up  under  a  tree  and  give 
them  the  rest  of  the  bread?  " 

"  It'll  be  nice  soft  food,"  I  laughed. 

"  I  can  wring  my  cloak,  too,  and  ease  the  weight 
from  my  horse  a  little. 


THE  LUCK  TURNS  79 

We  pulled  up  under  a  tree  and  gave  the  horses 
the  bread,  munching  a  crust  ourselves,  and  making 
the  best  of  things.  Volna's  pluck  was  inextinguish- 
able ;  and  she  laughed  and  joked  over  her  plight  as 
she  wrung  out  the  wet. 

I  struck  a  match  and  looked  at  my  watch,  and 
was  startled  to  find  it  was  nearly  ten  o'clock. 

I  told  Volna  and  we  started  again.  The  rain  was 
much  less  and  the  darkness  had  lifted  somewhat; 
but  I  led  my  horse  now  instead  of  riding. 

Presently  I  felt  the  road  getting  suspiciously  soft 
and  grassy,  and  some  minutes  afterwards  I  stumbled 
up  against  a  gate  which  blocked  the  way  and  led 
into  a  wood. 

There  was  nothing  for  it  but  to  go  back  to  the 
forked  road.  To  make  matters  worse,  the  rain 
started  again  and  came  pouring  down  even  more 
violently  than  before. 

Nor  was  that  the  worst.  We  got  off  the  road 
again,  and  once  more  were  brought  to  a  standstill 
by  a  gate. 

"  It  looks  as  though  we  were  lost,"  I  said. 

"  We've  about  reached  the  bottom  of  our  troubles, 
I  should  think,"  replied  Volna,  still  cheery.  "  But 
if  the  chance  offered,  I  should  like  to  put  off  the  rest 
of  the  ride  till  daylight.  And  look,  there's  a 
light."  She  pointed  to  it  gleefully,  away  to  our 
left. 

We  made  our  way  to  it  with  trouble,  and  found 
that  it  came  from  the  lower  window  of  a  small 
house. 


8o       IN  THE  CAUSE  OF  FREEDOM 

I  rapped  at  the  door;  and  the  light  was  instantly 
extinguished. 

I  had  to  knock  again  twice,  and  then  a  window 
above  was  opened,  and  a  woman  put  her  head  out. 

"  Who  are  you,  and  what  do  you  want  ?  Are 
you  the  police  ?  " 

"  Police?  No.  We  have  lost  our  way,  and  want 
shelter." 

"  There's  no  one  in  the  house  but  me.  How 
many  are  you  ?  " 

"  Two.  Myself  and  my  sister.  We  can  pay  you 
well." 

She  drew  her  head  in  for  a  minute,  and  then 
looked  out  again  and  said.  "  Are  you  sure  you're 
only  two?  Let's  see  you."  We  stood  back  that 
she  could  do  so.  "  I'll  come  down,"  she  said. 

When  she  opened  the  door  the  light  she  held 
revealed  to  me  one  of  the  most  forbidding  faces  I 
have  ever  seen  on  a  woman's  shoulders. 

"  You've  got  horses,  have  you  ?  You  must  stall 
them  in  the  shed." 

She  handed  me  a  lantern,  and  Volna  came  with 
me.  When  we  had  fumbled  our  way  to  the  shed, 
and  tied  the  horses  up,  giving  them  some  hay  we 
found  in  the  place,  we  went  back  to  the  house. 

She  admitted  us  without  more  delay  and  as  soon 
as  we  were  inside,  locked  and  bolted  the  door.  "  A 
lone  woman  needs  to  be  careful,"  she  said  in  ex- 
planation, as  she  led  us  into  a  room  at  the  side 
where  a  fire  was  burning. 

Two  glasses  and  a  spirit  bottle  were  on  the  table, 


THE  LUCK  TURNS  81 

and  a  smell  of  rank  tobacco  smoke  hung  about  the 
place. 

Volna  went  in  first,  and  the  woman,  having  placed 
the  light  upon  the  table,  stood  holding  the  door  for 
us  to  pass. 

"  We  are  much  obliged  to  you,"  I  said,  and  as  I 
turned  to  her  I  caught  sight  of  a  man's  face  peering 
through  the  half  closed  door  of  a  dark  room  across 
the  passage. 

"  I'll  do  my  best  for  you,"  she  answered.  "  Dry 
yourselves  by  the  fire.  I'll  be  back  in  a  moment." 
With  that  she  went  out,  and  I  heard  her  turn  the 
key  softly  upon  us. 

It  might  mean  nothing ;  but — well,  I  did  not  tell 
Volna. 


WHAT   HAPPENED  IN  THE   COTTAGE 

VOLNA  walked  up  to  the  wood  fire,  took  off 
her  fur  turban,  shook  it,  and  laughed. 

"Were  you  ever  as  wet  before?    I  never  was." 

"  I  wonder  if  the  woman  can  find  you  something 
to  put  on  while  the  clothes  are  dried.  What  do 
you  make  of  her?  " 

"  She  about  fits  the  place,"  she  replied,  glancing 
round  the  room. 

A  wooden  bench,  a  couple  of  wooden  armchairs, 
a  square  table  and  a  black  oak  chest  of  drawers  with 
some  unpainted  shelving  over  it  for  crockery,  pots, 
and  pans,  constituted  the  furniture;  and  for  decora- 
tion a  couple  of  crude  coloured  prints,  scriptural  in 
subject  and  grimy  with  age,  hung  over  the  fireplace 
with  a  piece  of  broken  looking  glass  on  a  string  be- 
tween them. 

"  Rough,"  I  said,  in  answer  to  her  look. 

"  It  might  be  dirtier.  It  is  always  a  good  sign 
when  a  woman's  care  can  be  traced." 

"  She  said  she  was  a  lone  woman,  so  she  can't 
have  much  else  to  do  except  look  after  the  place." 

Volna  smiled.  "Didn't  you  see  those?"  and 
she  pointed  to  a  pair  of  men's  boots  by  the  chest 
of  drawers.  "  Probably  wood  cutter  or  charcoal 

82 


IN  THE  COTTAGE  83 

burner  or  something  of  that  sort ;  often  very  honest 
people." 

I  thought  of  the  man's  face  I  had  seen  and  said 
nothing. 

"  Have  you  your  flask  ?  "  I  took  it  out.  "  Good, 
then  I  shall  warm  some  water  and  you  must  have  a 
hot  drink ;  "  and  in  a  minute  she  had  cleaned  a  small 
saucepan  and  had  the  water  on  the  fire. 

"  I  wish  the  woman  would  come  back,"  I  grum- 
bled. "  I  want  you  to  get  your  wet  clothes  off." 

"  I  shouldn't  call  her,"  replied  Volna. 

"Why  not?" 

"  I  shouldn't  let  her  know  that  we  know  she 
locked  the  door." 

"  Did  you  notice  that?  " 

"  That's  deliciously  man-like,  Bob.  Of  course 
we're  in  a  very  queer  place;  but  we  may  as  well 
pretend  we  see  nothing  odd  and  suspect  nothing. 
We're  not  really  blind,  however." 

"  I  begin  to  think  Peggy's  more  wonderful  than 
ever,"  said  I  with  a  chuckle. 

The  woman  came  in  then  with  a  bundle  of  clothes 
on  her  arm;  and  her  manner  was  very  different. 
She  was  a  hideous  creature  truly;  the  upper  part 
of  her  face  seamed  with  what  might  have  been  two 
knife  slashes,  and  one  cheek  quite  disfigured  with 
marks  like  those  which  vitriol  leaves.  When  she 
spoke  or  smiled  her  mouth  drew  up  to  the  side,  dis- 
closing long  yellow  fangs  of  teeth. 

"  Ah,  that's  right ;  a  hot  drink  you're  making. 
You're  both  wet  to  the  skin,  aren't  you?  I've 


84       IN  THE  CAUSE  OF  FREEDOM 

rummaged  up  some  clothes  for  you.  I'll  make 
you  as  comfortable  as  I  can;  but  I'm  only  a  poor 
woman •" 

"  You're  a  very  kind  one,"  said  Volna,  looking 
at  the  clothes  she  had  brought. 

"  They  are  only  rough,  you  know ;  but  the  best 
I  can  manage." 

"  Water's  hot,  Bob,"  cried  Volna.  "  Get  me  a 
cloth  to  wipe  these  glasses,"  she  said  to  the  woman ; 
and  the  moment  her  back  was  turned  Volna  slipped 
the  papers  from  her  dress  and  handed  them  to  me. 
We  mixed  some  brandy  and  water  and  I  insisted 
upon  her  drinking  some. 

"  I've  set  a  candle  in  the  room  opposite  for  you," 
said  the  woman. 

"  Call  me  when  you're  ready,  Peggy ; "  and  I 
went  off  with  the  clothes  she  had  brought  for  me. 

I  had  just  completed  the  change  when  I  heard  a 
stealthy  step  in  the  passage.  I  was  listening  for  it, 
indeed,  and  had  not  shut  the  door.  Some  one  tried 
to  shut  it  for  me.  I  stopped  that  and  pulled  it  wide 
open.  It  was  the  man  whose  face  I  had  seen  before 
— long,  thin,  cadaverous  and  cunning,  with  close 
set,  ferrety  eyes. 

"  Come  in,"  I  said,  cheerfully. 

He  started  very  uneasily  and  then  mumbled: 
"  I  thought  you  didn't  know  it  was  open." 

"  All  right.  I  suppose  these  are  your  things. 
I'm  much  obliged  to  you." 

"  They're  my  best,"  he  answered.  "  You're  wel- 
come." 


IN  THE  COTTAGE  85 

Now  he  was  some  four  inches  shorter  than  I, 
whereas  the  clothes  were  quite  long  enough  for  me ; 
and  the  discrepancy  did  not  escape  me,  nor  tend 
to  lessen  my  suspicions. 

He  stood  watching  me  silently  as  I  finished  the 
change  and  took  out  the  contents  of  my  pockets. 
But  I  was  careful  not  to  let  him  see  that  I  had  a 
weapon. 

In  the  silence  I  could  hear  the  rain  streaming 
down. 

"  It's  a  fearful  night,"  I  said ;  "  your  wife  said 
you  weren't  at  home." 

"  Just  come  in." 

"  You  managed  to  keep  dry." 

He  pretended  not  to  hear  me.  "  It  won't  last 
much  longer.  How  did  you  come  here  ?  " 

"  We  got  off  the  road  in  the  dark  and  saw  a  light 
in  your  window." 

"  Strangers  here,  maybe?  "  I  caught  a  quick 
furtive  glance  with  a  gleam  of  considerable  interest 
in  the  shifty  eyes. 

"  I  don't  think  I've  ever  been  in  this  particular 
spot  before;  but  I  shall  know  better  when  I  see 
it  by  daylight.  Anybody  can  get  lost  in  the 
dark." 

"Going  far?" 

"  Out  for  a  ride  and  got  caught  in  the  storm. 
Will  you  see  to  the  horses  for  me?  " 

"  I  have.  Couple  of  good  ones.  One  of  them  is 
nearly  done  up.  You've  come  far?  " 

At  that  moment  Volna  opened  the  door  of  the 


86       IN  THE  CAUSE  OF  FREEDOM 

other  room  and  called  me.  She  burst  into  a  merry 
laugh  at  the  sight  of  me  and  I  grinned  back  at 
her. 

"  You  look  as  if  you  were  made  up  as  a  peasant 
for  theatricals,"  I  said. 

"  I  don't  know  what  you're  like.  But  I'm  dry. 
Think  of  it,  Bob,  dry  once  more." 

I  carried  in  my  wet  things  and  they  were  soon 
steaming  by  the  fire  with  hers.  The  woman  hustled 
about  and  put  some  black  bread  and  vile  cheese  on 
the  table;  while  the  man  stood  fidgetting  about 
sheepishly  by  the  door. 

"  It's  all  I've  got  to  eat ;  but  I  can  make  you  some 
coffee." 

"  The  very  thing,"  said  Volna. 

"  Fetch  the  coffee,  Ivan,"  said  the  woman.  The 
man  hesitated,  glanced  at  her,  and  then  shuffled 
away. 

"  Come  on,  Bob,  I'm  famished/'  cried  Volna, 
sitting  down  and  cutting  some  bread. 

"  Ivan  says  your  horse  is  done  up,"  said  the 
woman.  "  You  must  be  a  long  way  from  home." 

"  Further  than  you  think,"  replied  Volna. 
"  We're  English." 

"  You  didn't  ride  from  England  ?  "  she  asked 
stupidly. 

"  You  dear  soul,  there's  the  sea  between  England 
and  here." 

"  But  you're  strangers?  " 

"  Some  more  bread,  Bob  ?  "  and  as  she  bent  down 
to  cut  it  she  whispered  in  French  to  me :  "  She's 


IN  THE  COTTAGE  87 

asked  that  question  a  dozen  times,  trying  to  pump 
me  all  the  time." 

"  Strangers?  "  I  said  to  the  woman.  "  Of  course 
we  are.  Tourists.  Don't  know  a  soul  for  many  a 
mile  about  here  and  not  a  soul  knows  us.  But  you 
needn't  be  afraid.  We  can  pay  you ; "  and  I  took 
out  a  handful  of  money  and  tossed  a  gold  piece 
across  to  her. 

It  was  worth  the  money  to  see  the  greedy  avari- 
cious light  that  leapt  in  her  eyes.  But  Volna  looked 
puzzled  and  a  little  alarmed  at  this  act  of  mine. 

"  What  a  time  that  man  is  getting  the  coffee," 
the  woman  said.  "  I  suppose  he  can't  find  it ;  "  and 
she  went  out  of  the  room. 

"  Why  did  you  do  that?  "  asked  Volna. 

"  Why  not  ?  It  was  the  answer  she  wanted,  and 
it's  quite  a  relief  to  be  able  to  tell  the  truth." 

"  Do  you  suspect  anything  ?  " 

"  I  think  the  man  is  a  long  time  finding  such  a 
thing  as  coffee  and  I  wonder  they  don't  keep  it  here 
with  the  rest  of  their  eatables ; "  and  Volna  shewed 
that  she  understood  me. 

The  two  came  back  wrangling :  she  scolding  him 
for  his  delay;  he  protesting  he  didn't  know  where 
she  kept  things.  They  were  clumsy  actors,  how- 
ever. 

The  woman  made  some  coffee  then  and  set  it  on 
the  table.  "I'm  thinking  where  I'll  put  you  to 
sleep,"  she  said.  "  You  can  have  our  bed  and 
welcome,"  she  added  to  Volna;  "but  for  your 
brother,  I'll  have  to  make  one  up  somehow.  You 


88       IN  THE  CAUSE  OF  FREEDOM 

see  we're  only  poor  folks.  But  we'll  manage. 
Come,  Ivan." 

I  was  stirring  my  coffee  and  put  it  to  my  lips  as 
they  went  out ;  and  the  woman  turned  and  saw  me. 
This  time  instead  of  locking  the  door  upon  us,  they 
left  it  ajar. 

It  was  becoming  as  plain  as  print. 

I  set  down  the  cup,  untasted,  of  course,  and 
talked  in  a  fairly  loud  tone  about  the  kindness  of 
the  two  and  how  good  the  coffee  tasted ;  and  Volna 
taking  her  cue  from  me  agreed. 

Then  we  all  but  emptied  the  two  cups  into  a  jug 
and  hid  it  away,  and  went  on  talking  unconcernedly. 
Presently  I  stole  to  the  door  and  listened.  The 
two  were  in  the  upper  part  of  the  house. 

Volna,  I  could  see  now,  was  beginning  to  grow 
nervous. 

"  It's  all  right.  We  can  act  much  better  than 
they,  and  there  isn't  a  thing  to  fear." 

Her  brow  wrinkled.  "  I  think  Peggy  doesn't 
want  to  be  left  alone,  Bob,"  she  said. 

"  You'll  have  to  make  shift  with  that  wooden 
settle ;  but  you  may  go  to  sleep  without  a  thought." 

"  What  do  you  think  they  mean  to  do  ?  " 

"  They've  half  done  what  they  meant  and  we 
shall  soon  know  the  rest.  The  coffee  is  drugged  of 
course,  and  they  think  we've  drunk  it.  Now,  lie 
down  and  just  go  off  to  sleep.  I've  dried  my  last 
three  cigars  and  am  going  to  smoke  one  of  them." 

I  settled  her  on  the  wooden  bench  and  having 
lighted  my  cigar,  rummaged  about  and  found  an 


IN  THE  COTTAGE  89 

oily  rag  with  which  I  cleaned  my  revolver  very 
carefully,  reloaded  it  and  kept  it  at  hand. 

I  then  sat  down  by  the  fire  smoking  and  thinking 
and  waiting.  It  was  evident  enough  that  we  had 
got  into  the  hands  of  some  very  ugly  customers. 
I  recalled  several  strange  tales  of  dark  deeds  done 
in  these  wild  and  lonely  parts  of  the  country;  and 
the  circumstances  now  lent  themselves  readily  to 
villainy. 

They  had  got  from  us  the  fact  that  we  were 
strangers,  and  I  had  purposely  made  no  hesitation 
in  shewing  that  we  had  plenty  of  money.  That 
they  had  tried  in  their  clumsy  way  to  drug  us,  I 
had  no  doubt  whatever;  and  the  only  question  was 
what  they  meant  to  do  next. 

The  fear  in  the  woman's  first  question  whether 
we  were  the  police,  and  her  statement  that  the  man 
was  not  in  the  house,  gave  a  clue  to  their  character; 
and  the  change  in  manner,  the  assumption  of  friend- 
liness, the  suggestiveness  of  sending  the  man  to 
find  the  coffee;  indeed  all  these  circumstances  fitted 
together  too  well  to  leave  any  doubt  that  some  dev- 
ilment was  on  foot. 

I  did  not  feel  the  least  alarmed,  however.  I  felt 
myself  more  than  a  match  for  the  two  in  any  rough 
and  tumble  that  was  to  come ;  I  was  thoroughly  on 
on  my  guard;  and  had  a  weapon  and  knew  well 
enough  how  to  use  it.  As  a  matter  of  fact  it  was 
we  rather  than  they  who  were  laying  the  snare. 

Somewhere  between  half  an  hour  and  an  hour 
passed  without  a  sound  in  the  house.  I  had  finished 


90      IN  THE  CAUSE  OF  FREEDOM 

my  cigar  and  tossed  it  away  and  was  gazing  into 
the  flickering  embers  of  the  fire,  when  I  heard  the 
stairs  creak  slightly.  A  glance  shewed  me  that 
Volna  was  asleep;  a  tribute  this,  indeed,  to  her 
trust  in  me. 

I  dropped  my  head  as  though  I,  too,  were  asleep 
and  breathed  heavily.  I  was  very  curious  to  know 
what  was  to  happen. 

In  a  short  while  the  door  was  pushed  open  noise- 
lessly and  the  woman  put  her  head  in.  I  had 
already  set  her  down  for  the  head  of  the  firm,  as 
the  more  courageous  of  the  pair  of  rascals. 

She  looked  at  us  both  for  some  moments  and  then 
entered  and  crept  towards  Volna.  Not  daring  to 
let  her  go  too  near,  I  shifted  my  position  and 
grunted,  as  if  uneasy  in  my  sleep.  This  drew  her 
attention  to  me,  as  I  intended,  and  she  stopped  and 
stared  at  me. 

Next  she  moved  to  the  table  and  took  up  the  two 
cups  one  after  another;  glanced  from  them  to  us 
in  turn ;  and  concluding  that  we  had  drunk  the  con- 
tents, set  them  down  with  a  slight  grunt  of  satis- 
faction. 

The  logs  slipped  in  the  fire  at  that  moment  with 
a  shower  of  sparks.  She  started  and  took  a  quick 
step  towards  the  door. 

Thinking  she  was  going  I  moved,  breathed  very 
heavily  and  blinked  at  her  as  though  almost  over- 
come with  sleep. 

"  I  came  for  the  light,"  she  said  in  a  low  voice. 
"  Our  candle's  out." 


IN  THE  COTTAGE  91 

For  answer  I  nodded,  waved  my  hand  clumsily 
to  signify  she  could  take  it,  attempted  to  rise  and 
fell  back  in  my  chair,  huddled  together  as  if  com- 
pletely overcome  with  stupor. 

She  stood  with  the  lamp  in  her  hand  as  if  planning 
what  to  do  next;  a  look  of  diabolical  evil  on  her 
hideous  face.  Then  slowly  and  cautiously  she  came 
towards  me.  Having  satisfied  myself  that  she  had 
no  knife  or  weapon  I  shut  my  eyes  and  let  her  hold 
the  light  close  to  my  face.  I  could  feel  her  breath 
as  she  bent  forward  to  listen  to  my  breathing. 

After  a  moment  she  moved  away  and  crossed  to 
Volna,  whom  she  examined  with  the  same  scrutiny. 
A  low  sigh  of  satisfaction  escaped  her,  as  she  turned 
away  and  went  out  of  the  room,  carrying  the  lamp 
with  her.  I  heard  the  stairs  creak  as  she  crept  up 
them. 

Then  I  woke  Volna.  "  Don't  be  frightened.  Pre- 
tend to  be  asleep.  Something  is  going  to  happen; 
the  woman  has  been  in  to  make  sure  that  we  are 
asleep;  and  will  no  doubt  be  back  in  a  moment." 

I  went  back  to  my  chair  and  waited,  ready  to 
resume  my  extremely  uncomfortable  position  at  a 
moment's  notice. 

Shortly  afterwards  the  stairs  creaked  again,  more 
noisily  this  time;  probably  under  the  heavier 
weight  of  them  both;  but  instead  of  entering  the 
room  the  steps  went  along  the  passage.  Then  I 
heard  sounds  in  the  distance;  just  muffled  con- 
fused noises  of  knocking  and  stamping.  What 
caused  them  I  could  not  conjecture. 


92       IN  THE  CAUSE  OF  FREEDOM 

Soon  after  they  had  ceased,  the  footsteps  came 
again  into  the  passage,  and  a  moving  streak  of  light 
shewed  through  the  door  of  our  room.  This  time 
something  weighty  was  set  down  with  a  heavy  bump 
just  outside  the  door;  a  most  unaccountable  rustling 
followed;  and  then  the  two  whispered  together. 
In  the  pause  a  pungent  odour  of  paraffin  came  from 
the  lamp  they  had. 

All  sorts  of  weird  conjectures  crowded  into  my 
thoughts  as  to  the  possible  meaning  of  this  develop- 
ment. Volna  had  heard  it  all  and  looked  at  me  in 
bewilderment.  I  motioned  her  to  keep  silence. 

Another  journey  was  made  up  the  creaky  stair- 
case. It  was  the  man  who  went,  and  while  he  was 
away  the  woman  looked  in  upon  us.  I  saw  to  my 
surprise  this  time  that  she  wore  her  bonnet. 

As  the  man's  tread  was  on  the  stairs  again  she 
drew  back  and  in  a  whisper  loud  enough  to  reach 
us,  she  said :  "  It's  all  right,  you  coward.  They're 
both  off  fast  enough.  You  can  do  it  safely  now. 
The  man  first,  mind." 

The  next  moment  the  door  was  pushed  wide  open 
and  they  both  entered  stealthily. 


CHAPTER    IX 

A   VERY  TIGHT   CORNER 

suspense  of  the  two  or  three  moments 
which  followed  the  entrance  of  the  pair  con- 
stituted an  ordeal  not  to  be  forgotten.  That  Volna 
mastered  herself  sufficiently  to  pass  through  it 
without  a  sign  or  sound,  was  the  greatest  proof  of 
her  courage  she  could  have  given. 

It  was  less  trying  for  me.  I  had  witnessed  the 
woman's  former  visit,  and,  despite  her  ominous 
whisper  to  her  husband,  had  come  to  the  conclusion 
that  no  attempt  was  to  be  made  on  our  lives.  More- 
over I  was  armed.  But  Volna  knew  nothing  of  this. 
I  had  only  been  able  to  whisper  a  hurried  and  very 
indefinite  warning  to  her,  calculated,  despite  my 
assurance,  to  work  up  her  fears  to  a  high  strain. 

They  stood  still  for  some  moments;  the  man 
slightly  in  front  of  his  wife,  who  set  a  candle  she 
was  carrying  down  behind  her.  The  faces  of  both 
then  caught  the  red  gleam  from  the  embers  of  the 
fire;  and  so  evil  looking  a  couple  I  hope  never  to 
see  again. 

The  man's  long,  thin,  cunning  face  was  strained 
and  intense,  and  his  narrow  treacherous  eyes  glanced 
from  me  to  Volna  and  back  from  Volna  to  me,  as 
if  in  doubt  which  to  attack  first.  Just  behind  him 
stood  the  tall,  gaunt,  and  angular  form  of  the 

93 


94      IN  THE  CAUSE  OF  FREEDOM 

woman  inciting  him ;  her  eyes  gleaming  with  excite- 
ment, her  lips  parted  and  drawn  in  a  snarl  to  one 
side,  and  every  line,  cicatrice  and  seam  of  her  scarred 
repulsive  features  brought  into  strong  relief  by  the 
ruddy  gleam  of  the  log  fire.  She  looked  a  veritable 
hag  of  evil,  utterly  detestable,  deadly,  and  loath- 
some. 

"  The  man  first,"  she  whispered,  jogging  her 
accomplice. 

He  glanced  half  round  to  her,  irritable,  and  then 
I  saw  that  he  was  carrying  a  length  of  cord. 

He  began  to  creep  slowly  toward  me  until 
Volna,  as  she  confessed  afterwards,  could  endure  it 
no  longer.  She  sprang  up  and  called  me. 

In  another  moment  I  was  on  my  feet ;  and  before 
the  two  could  recover  from  their  astonishment,  I 
sprang  past  them,  slammed  the  door,  and  set  my 
back  against  it,  my  hand  on  my  revolver. 

"  Now  perhaps  you'll  tell  me  what  this  means?  " 

The  woman  was  for  fighting  and  stood  at  bay  like 
a  beast,  just  robbed  of  its  intended  victim.  But  the 
man  was  of  poorer  stuff,  and  cowered  ashen  white 
and  speechless. 

"  Mayn't  we  move  about  our  own  house?  "  asked 
the  woman.  "  Ivan,  if  you're  a  man,  you  won't 
stand  this." 

But  Ivan  had  no  sort  of  fight  in  him.  He  clapped 
his  hands  to  his  face  and  sank  into  my  chair  by  the 
fire.  The  hag  looked  his  way  and  swore  at  him 
with  a  snarl  of  contempt. 

"  Come  now,  what  does  this  mean  ?  " 


A  VERY  TIGHT  CORNER         95 

"  It  means  that  if  you  don't  like  it,  you  can  clear 
out,  the  pair  of  you;"  and  she  turned  fiercely  on 
Volna.  "  Coming  here  with  your  lies  about  being 
lost,  and  wanting  to  rob  poor  and  honest  folk,  and 
then  trumping  up  a  lying  accusation.  Who  are  you, 
I'd  like  to  know." 

Her  assurance  was  as  brazen  as  her  courage  was 
unquestionable;  I  own  I  was  at  a  loss  what  to  do. 

"  That  won't  do  with  me.  Your  one  chance  is 
to  tell  the  truth,"  I  said. 

"  You're  a  man,  aren't  you,  to  call  a  woman  a 
liar?  Do  you  hear  that,  Ivan?"  and  she  went  to 
him  and  shook  him.  "  Get  up,  pig :  don't  sit 
shaking  there  when  you  hear  me  abused  by  this 
thief  of  the  night."  She  hauled  him  to  his  feet; 
and  Volna  took  the  opportunity  of  crossing  to  my 
side. 

"  You  mustn't  talk  like  that  here,"  he  said  with  a 
sort  of  hang-dog  manner. 

"  I'd  rather  talk  to  you  than  to  the  woman  there. 
Now  you " 

"  You  hear  that,  Ivan.  Strike  him  for  that. 
You  deal  with  him  and  I'll  look  after  the  wench." 
She  pushed  him  toward  me  and  seemed  for  the 
moment  to  infect  him  with  some  of  her  own  des- 
perate courage. 

"  If  you  don't  like  it,  go,"  he  said. 

"  No,  they  shan't  go  now,"  interrupted  the  fury. 
"  We  daren't  let  them  go  now,  you  fool.  You 
know.  Go  on." 

He  still  hung  back,  however,  and  then  she  sud- 


96      IN  THE  CAUSE  OF  FREEDOM 

denly  wrenched  open  a  drawer  and  took  out  a 
formidable  looking  chopper. 

"  Here,  Ivan,  now  will  you  do  it  ?  Down  with 
the  man  and  leave  the  wench  to  me.  It  will  be 
death  if  we  don't  do  it  and  get  away." 

The  remnants  of  his  courage  awoke  when  he  felt 
the  weapon  in  his  hand;  and  I  heard  Volna  catch 
her  breath  at  the  look  which  gradually  stole  into 
his  beady,  cruel  eyes,  as  he  looked  at  me. 

Goaded  by  the  woman's  taunts  and  the  fear- 
thoughts  which  her  words  had  started,  he  took  a 
couple  of  stealthy  steps  toward  me  while  the  woman 
went  round  the  table  to  reach  Volna. 

Just  as  he  was  raising  his  weapon  to  rush  at  me, 
I  whipped  my  revolver  out  and  covered  him. 

"  Drop  that ;  you  murderous  devil,"  I  cried,  in  a 
ringing  tone. 

With  a  cry  of  fear  he  started  back  and  let  the 
chopper  fall  on  the  brick  floor.  In  a  moment  I  had 
possession  of  it,  and  handed  my  pistol  to  Volna. 

"  If  she  moves,  use  it,"  I  said. 

But  the  sudden  turning  of  the  tables  had  knocked 
the  fight  even  out  of  the  virago  of  a  woman.  The 
man  no  longer  counted.  He  stumbled  back  and 
cowered  against  the  wall,  getting  as  far  away  from 
me  as  possible,  and  just  stared  at  me  beside  him- 
self with  fright. 

"  Now  we  can  talk,"  I  said. 

"  We  didn't  mean  anything,"  cleclared  the 
woman.  "We  were  only  trying  to  frighten  you 


A  VERY  TIGHT  CORNER          97 

so  that  we  might  get  safely  out  of  the  room.  I'm 
sure  I  tried  to  do  all  I  could  for  you;  giving  you 
food  and " 

"  That'll  do.  Go  to  that  end  of  the  room."  She 
obeyed  me.  "  Now  answer  my  questions.  Why 
did  you  come  stealing  into  the  room  just  now — 
before  this  time  ?  " 

"  I  only  wanted  to  see  you  were  all  right  and  to 
fetch  the  lamp.  I've  done  my  best  for  you,"  she 
murmured  in  a  whining,  canting,  fawning  tone. 

"  You  won't  answer,  eh  ?  Well,  I'll  give  your 
man  a  chance.  Now  you,  tell  me  what  was  that 
rope  for  that  you  brought  in  ?  " 

The  woman  tried  to  reply,  but  I  silenced  her. 
The  man  glared  at  me  speechless  and  helpless. 

"  Your  only  chance  is  to  tell  the  truth.  You 
were  going  to  tie  me  up  with  it?  Confess." 

"  No,  no,  no,"  he  gasped  through  his  pallid  lips. 

"You  had  two  ropes;  one  for  me  and  one  for 
my  sister  here." 

"  No,  no,  no,"  he  repeated. 

"  You  know  I  speak  the  truth.  But  if  you  won't 
confess  that,  tell  me  why  you  drugged  that  coffee 
you  gave  me." 

The  woman  broke  out  again  'declaring  by  all  the 
saints  that  I  must  be  mad  to  ask  such  a  question. 
The  man  only  gazed  stupidly  at  me  in  silence. 

"Let  him  drink  it  then,"  said  Volna;  and  the 
woman's  start  at  the  shrewd  suggestion  told  me 
that  it  had  struck  home. 


98      IN  THE  CAUSE  OF  FREEDOM 

"  Yes,  that's  the  test,"  I  agreed  readily.  "  Will 
you  get  that  jug?  " 

Volna  took  out  the  jug  and  poured  the  coffee 
back  into  the  cups. 

They  both  watched  her  intently  as  she  did  this, 
turning  now  and  then  from  her  to  me,  with  swift 
glances  of  speculative  fear. 

"  Now  if  this  is  not  drugged  or  poisoned,  drink 
it ; "  and  I  took  one  of  the  cups  and  held  it  toward 
the  man ;  "  Quick,"  I  cried,  so  sternly  that  he 
trembled.  His  eyes  were  everywhere  except  on  my 
face,  and  his  lips  moved  convulsively. 

"  Drink  it,  fool,"  said  the  woman  with  a  sneer. 

He  stretched  out  his  hand  toward  the  cup,  and 
then  with  a  swift  gesture  struck  at  it  and  dashed 
it  to  the  ground. 

"  I  knew  it.    I  need  no  more  proof,"  I  declared. 

"  I'll  drink  it,"  cried  the  woman,  making  a  snatch 
at  the  cup  on  the  table.  But  I  caught  her  hand,  and 
Volna  took  away  the  cup. 

"  No,  no,  that  is  for  the  police,"  I  said. 

At  the  mention  of  the  police  an  angry  oath 
leapt  from  her  lips-  and  she  strove  desperately  to 
wrench  her  hand  from  my  grip  to  get  the  cup.  I 
had  to  use  some  violence  to  thrust  her  back. 

Foiled  in  the  effort  to  destroy  the  traces  of  the 
drug,  her  rage  completely  mastered  her;  and  being 
unable  to  vent  it  upon  us,  she  turned  upon  the  man. 
With  a  running  accompaniment  of  abuse  and  re- 
proaches as  the  cause  of  the  trouble  she  seized  him 
and  shook  him  till  his  teeth  rattled  like  castanets, 


A  VERY  TIGHT  CORNER          99 

and  then  clouted  and  kicked  him  and  tore  at  him 
with  her  nails  like  a  fiend  incarnate  until  he  fell 
huddled  up  on  the  floor  howling  to  her  to  stop. 

Volna  opened  the  door  and  went  out  to  escape  the 
din  and  repulsive  sight  and  then  called  me  hur- 
riedly. 

In  a  moment  the  whole  infernal  scheme  of  the 
two  was  made  clear.  The  heavy  burden  which  we 
had  heard  set  down  outside  the  door  and  which  had 
so  puzzled  me  was  explained,  as  well  as  the  mys- 
terious rustling  which  had  set  me  wondering. 

The  one  was  a  cask  half  full  of  petroleum;  the 
other  a  huge  heap  of  shavings,  chips  and  hay,  ready 
saturated  with  petroleum. 

"  They  meant  to  bind  us  in  our  sleep  and  fire  the 
house.  I  did  not  think  there  could  be  such  fiends," 
said  Volna,  trembling. 

It  was  too  obvious  to  question.  The  heap  of 
shavings  laid  ready  for  lighting  told  its  own  story; 
and  with  the  petroleum  thrown  into  the  room  where 
we  were  to  have  been  left  bound  and  unconscious, 
nothing  could  have  saved  us. 

Volna  clung  to  my  arm  faint  and  cold  with  the 
horror  of  it.  "  Let  us  go,"  she  whispered. 

"  That  is  why  the  woman  was  dressed  to  go 
out.  I  see  it  now.  That  fear  of  hers  of  the  police, 
the  noise  we  heard  outside;  they  were  expecting 
the  police  and  meant  to  fly  on  our  horses.  Such 
devils  ought  not  to  be  allowed  to  escape." 

But  it  was  obvious  that  we  dared  not  run  the  risk 
of  denouncing  them. 


ioo    IN  THE  CAUSE  OF  FREEDOM 

"  Let  us  go,"  said  Volna  again.  "  The  very  air 
of  the  place  makes  me  faint  and  ill." 

I  went  back  into  the  room. 

"  I  have  found  out  all  your  infernal  scheme. 
Get  out  of  here,  and  keep  out  of  sight,  lest  I  take 
the  law  in  my  own  hands ;  "  and  I  drew  the  revolver 
again  to  emphasize  my  words. 

The  man  was  seemingly  afraid  to  move;  so  I 
dragged  him  to  his  feet,  hauled  him  to  the  door 
and  flung  him  down  in  the  passage.  "Upstairs 
with  you  and  if  I  catch  so  much  as  a  glimpse  of 
you  I'll  shoot  you  like  the  murderous  skunk  you 
are." 

He  crawled  away  from  my  feet  and  slunk  up  the 
creaking  staircase  shaking  in  every  limb  and  casting 
frightened  glances  behind  him. 

"  What  are  you  going  to  do?  "  asked  the  woman, 
coming  to  the  door. 

"  Hold  your  tongue,"  I  thundered.  "  Go  to 
the  villain  you  egged  on  to  do  this  thing.  Quick, 

or "  She  was  scared  by  my  rage  and  went 

without  another  word. 

"Shall  I  change?"  asked  Volna. 

I  nodded.  "  And  bring  me  my  things.  I'll  stop 
on  guard  here." 

I  heard  the  two  muttering  and  wrangling  in  the 
room  above;  but  neither  made  any  attempt  to 
come  down;  and  in  some  few  minutes  we  were 
ready. 

"  We'll  go  together  and  get  the  horses,"  I  said 
to  Volna;  and  was  in  the  act  of  opening  the  door 


A  VERY  TIGHT  CORNER        101 

when  I  started  involuntarily  as  some  one  beat  a 
loud  peremptory  summons  on  the  panel. 

"  Open  the  door  there,  open,"  called  a  voice. 

Volna  started  and  clutched  my  arm.  ".What 
shall  we  do? " 

If  it  was  the  police,  we  were  caught  like  rats  in 
a  trap. 

"  iWe  must  brazen  it  out,"  I  said. 

"The  papers?"  she  whispered.  The  knocking 
was  repeated  more  loudly  and  insistently  than  be- 
fore. "  Open  there,  at  once.  I  say." 

"  See  if  there's  fire  enough  to  burn  them." 

She  ran  back  into  the  room. 

"Who  is  there?"  I  called. 

"  The  police.    Open  or  we  shall  break  in." 

To  shew  hesitation  would  be  fatal.  So  I  unfas- 
tened the  door  and  threw  it  open. 

At  that  moment,  Volna  came  back  and  shook  her 
head. 

Two  men  entered.  "You  are  our  prisoners," 
cried  the  first  comer.  "If  you  resist  the  conse- 
quences will  be  on  your  heads." 

"  We  don't  resist.    I'm  glad  you've  come." 

They  seized  and  held  us  both ;  the  man  who  took 
me  snatching  the  revolver  which  was  still  in  my 
hand. 

"Ah,  a  police  weapon,"  He  said,  significantly, 
and  shewed  it  to  his  companion,  who  appeared  to  be 
in  command. 

"  Search  them  both  for  any  more  weapons,"  came 
the  order,  sharp  and  ringing. 


102     IN  THE  CAUSE  OF  FREEDOM 

"  Wait  a  moment.  There  is  a  mistake  here," 
I  said. 

"  You've  made  it  then,  in  letting  us  nee  you  here 
so  easily ; "  and  they  both  laughed. 

"  What  is  the  charge  against  us  ?  "  I  asked. 

It  was  about  as  tight  a  corner  as  fate  in  an  ill- 
natured  mood  could  have  devised  for  us. 


CHAPTER   X 

THE  HAG  TO  THE  RESCUE 

T  KNEW  enough  of  the  methods  of  the  police  not 
•••  to  lay  too  much  emphasis  at  the  outset  upon 
the  fact  that  they  had  blundered.  The  police  are 
pretty  much  the  same  all  the  world  over.  Charge 
them  with  blundering,  and  they  will  exhaust  every 
resource  to  disprove  the  charge;  and  in  the  mean- 
time, you  who  have  made  it  are  getting  badly 
squeezed. 

Moreover,  I  was  not  certain  that  it  was  a  blunder. 
I  hoped  they  were  after  the  villainous  couple  who 
lived  in  the  house,  and  that  in  the  haste  and  con- 
fusion of  the  moment  we  had  been  mistaken  for 
them.  But  it  was  quite  possible  Volna  and  I  had 
been  tracked,  and  were  really  the  prisoners  they 
sought. 

In  any  case  it  was  highly  dangerous  for  us  to  be 
in  their  hands,  and  we  should  need  to  keep  cool 
heads  to  get  out  again,  without  the  fact  becoming 
known  that  we  were  fugitives. 

As  it  was,  only  an  accident  prevented  the  in- 
criminating papers  from  being  immediately  found. 
Just  the  luck  that  I  had  told  Volna  to  try  and  burn 
them  and  had  not  taken  them  back  from  her.  The 
search  to  which  she  was  subjected  was  little  more 

103 


104    IN  THE  CAUSE  OF  FREEDOM 

than  formal;  but  my  pockets  were  all  overhauled, 
and  my  papers  taken  out  and  examined. 

I  was  not  so  foolish  as  to  resist;  but  I  began  to 
feel  pretty  indignant  when  papers,  money,  and  all, 
were  retained  by  the  leader. 

"  How  did  you  get  this  ?  "  he  asked,  holding  up 
the  police  revolver.  He  appeared  to  attach  great 
importance  to  my  possession  of  it.  This  interested 
me  greatly.  That  I  had  taken  it  from  the  police 
agent  on  the  Devil's  Staircase  would  certainly  be 
known;  and  if  he  was  in  search  of  us,  it  was  a 
sufficient  proof  that  we  were  the  persons  wanted.  I 
had  to  get  at  that  indirectly. 

"  If  you  will  permit  me  I  will  give  you  an  exact 
report  of  what  has  happened  here,  and  that  will 
account  for  everything." 

"All  I  want  is  a  plain  answer  to  my  question. 
No  long  roundabout,  lying  story." 

There  was  no  help  for  it.  I  must  lie.  So  I  did  it 
boldly.  "  Most  fortunately  I  got  the  revolver 
here,"  I  said. 

"You're  a  cool  hand,"  was  the  sneering  reply. 
"  But  it  won't  do  you  any  good  to  lie  to  me." 

"  Fortunately,  I  mean,  because  it  saved  my  life 
and  that  of  my  sister  here.  We  were  attacked " 

"  Do  you  mean  there  are  any  others  in  the 
house?"  he  broke  in. 

"  Certainly  I  do.  The  two  wretches  who  appear 
to  have  been  living  here  are  in  a  room  above." 

Both  the  man  and  his  wife  had  kept  as  quiet  as 


THE  HAG  TO  THE  RESCUE      105 

mutes  all  this  time.  But  they  had  evidently  been 
listening,  for  at  that  moment  the  door  above  was 
opened,  and  the  two  came  out. 

"  Is  that  the  police?  Is  that  the  police?  "  cried 
the  woman.  "  Heaven,  and  the  blessed  Virgin 
above  be  praised.  We've  been  nearly  murdered  by 
the  two  villains  there.  You'll  protect  us  now, 
won't  you?  Praise  to  the  Holy  Saints  for  having 
sent  you  to  our  assistance." 

"What's  all  this?" 

The  couple  came  running  down  the  stairs  and 
threw  themselves  on  their  knees ;  the  woman  pouring 
out  a  voluble  account  of  how  they  had  been  attacked 
by  us  and  their  lives  threatened,  mingled  with 
thanks  for  their  deliverance,  entreaties  to  protect 
them,  and  an  urgent  warning  to  pay  special  attention 
to  me  as  a  dangerous  and  murderous  villain. 

I  foresaw  a  very  awkward  complication.  When 
two  parties  accuse  each  other,  the  police  rule  is  to 
arrest  both. 

The  leader  was  obviously  perplexed.  "  What  is 
your  name?"  he  said  to  me;  and  before  I  could 
reply  the  woman  burst  in. 

"  Ivan  Krempel,  and  that's  Nita,  his  wife,"  she 
cried.  "  They've  been  using  the  house  for  days  and 
days  past." 

I  attempted  to  deny  this;  but  he  silenced  me. 
"  And  your  names,"  he  asked  the  woman. 

"This  is  my  husband,  Peter  Vranowski,  the 
woodcutter;  I  am  Anna  his  wife.  We  came  last 


io6     IN  THE  CAUSE  OF  FREEDOM 

week  from  Potzden  in  Silesia,  and  have  been  lodg- 
ing here  with  these  Krempels.  We  thought  they 
were  honest  folks  like  ourselves." 

"  You  are  the  man  I  am  searching  for,"  he  said, 
turning  to  me.  "  Ivan  Krempel,  and  his  wife, 
Nita." 

This  was  good  news  in  a  way.  He  was  not  after 
the  Garretts,  and  I  could  safely  use  that  name. 

"  I  can  understand  your  perplexity,"  I  said 
calmly.  "  But  this  woman  is  lying.  We  are  Eng- 
lish; Robert  Garrett  and  Margaret  Garrett,  brother 
and  sister.  Caught  by  the  storm  to-night,  we  came 
here  for  shelter,  and  narrowly  escaped  death  at  the 
hands  of  these  two." 

"  But  these  people  say  you  are  the  Krempels." 

"  So  they  are.  So  they  are.  The  holy  Virgin 
knows  I  speak  the  truth,"  protested  the  old  hag. 

"  The  proof  is  in  your  hands.  Our  passports  are 
among  the  papers  which  you  have  taken  from  me." 

"  Go  into  the  room  there,  all  of  you,"  he 
answered,  after  a  pause.  I  led  the  way  with  Volna 
and  the  rest  followed.  "  Get  a  light,"  he  said  to 
Volna,  the  candle  having  been  extingished  in  the 
former  scrimmage. 

"  I  don't  know  where  to  look  for  one.  There 
was  a  lamp  here,  but  the  woman  took  it  away." 

"Listen  to  her.  Listen  to  her.  Oh,  the  liar, 
when  she  carried  it  upstairs  with  her  own  hands," 
cried  the  hag. 

"  Go  upstairs  and  see  if  it's  there,"  he  told  his 
man,  who  went  and  returned  carrying  it. 


THE  HAG  TO  THE  RESCUE      107 

"  The  woman  was  right  in  that,"  said  the  officer 
significantly. 

"  She  would  very  naturally  know  where  she  her- 
self took  it,"  I  exclaimed;  but  he  was  as  pig-headed 
as  his  class,  and  repeated  his  statements,  adding 
to  my  concern,  "  I  don't  see  how  I  can  decide  this. 
It's  beyond  me." 

"  There  are  my  papers,"  I  reminded  him.  "  But 
surely  you  have  only  to  look  at  that  man  and  his 
wife,  and  contrast  them  with  my  sister  and  myself 
to  see  the  difference.  You  must  have  some  de- 
scription of  them." 

He  mumbled  to  himself  and  began  to  finger  my 
papers.  "  I  don't  see  anything  here  to  guide 
me." 

"  Those  are  the  passports ; "  and  I  pointed  to 
them. 

He  unfolded  them.  "  I  don't  read  English,"  he 
said. 

"You  can  read  the  names  at  any  rate  and,  of 
course,  as  a  responsible  official  so  near  the  frontier 
you  know  a  passport  by  sight." 

"  He  stole  that  from  an  Englishman.  He  boasted 
of  it  to  us,"  interjected  the  woman,  who  had  been 
watching  closely. 

"  How  am  I  to  know  this  is  yours  ?  "  he  asked 
immediately,  taking  the  cue  suggested. 

"  There  are  twenty  proofs  in  those  papers,  that  I 
am  an  Englishman;  as  well  as  on  myself.  See,  the 
pocket  book  there  has  the  address  of  a  London 
maker.  Here,  the  tab  on  my  coat  has  my  tailor's 


io8     IN  THE  CAUSE  OF  FREEDOM 

name  in  London.  Don't  you  hear  that  I  speak  with 
a  foreign  accent  ?  " 

He  examined  the  pocket  book,  and  the  tab  on  my 
coat ;  and  appeared  to  be  impressed.  "  They  seem 
right;  but  you  may  have  stolen  them,"  he  said 
grudgingly. 

I  pressed  the  advantage.  Picking  out  a  couple  of 
Sylvia's  letters  I  shewed  him  they  were  in  English, 
and  addressed  to  me. 

"That  is  not  Robert— that  is  B-o-b,"  he  said 
suspiciously. 

"  Robert  in  England  is  shortened  into  Bob,"  I 
explained ;  but  he  shook  his  head. 

"  Here  is  one  on  the  same  paper,  Wyrley  Court, 
Great  Malverton.  It  is  from  my  mother,  '  My  dear 
son  Robert.'  You  can  read  that?"  and  I  stuck  at 
him  until  I  had  deepened  the  impression.  Then  I 
told  him  briefly  what  had  happened  in  the  cottage, 
pointed  to  the  heap  of  soaked  shavings,  the  two 
ropes  and  a  cask  of  petroleum. 

This  was  not  done  without  many  interruptions 
from  the  woman,  who  vociferously  denied  the  whole 
story. 

"You  say  you  were  to  be  drugged?  How  'do 
you  know  ?  "  I  told  him  of  the  attempt  to  make 
the  man  drink  a  cup  of  the  coffee.  This  appealed  to 
him;  and  he  smiled  grimly. 

"  Have  you  still  the  cup  you  saved  ?  " 

Volna  got  it  and  handed  it  to  him. 

"  The  woman  shall  drink  it  now,"  he  declared. 
But  the  old  hag  swore  that  it  was  we  who  had  made 


THE  HAG  TO  THE  RESCUE      109 

the  coffee,  not  she;  and  that  we  had  tried  to  rob 
her. 

"  Why  should  we  wish  to  rob  a  woodcutter,"  I 
asked.  I  had  his  ear  now  and  he  began  to  have  a 
glimmer  of  reason.  "  Besides,  our  horses  are  out- 
side in  the  shed." 

"  They  are  our  horses,"  asserted  the  woman. 

"  Go  and  look  at  them.  See  if  a  woodcutter,  just 
a  week  here  from  Silesia,  as  she  says,  would  possess 
two  such  animals  and  saddles.  One  is  a  side 
saddle,  too." 

He  sent  his  man  out;  and  sat  silent.  Matters 
were  going  better,  so  I  left  him  to  absorb  the  points 
I  had  made. 

"Will  you  drink  that  coffee?"  he  asked  the 
woman  suddenly,  very  sternly. 

"  Why  should  I  drink  the  poison  we  refused 
before  ? "  she  cried,  and  pointing  her  scraggy 
finger  at  Volna  added :  "  She  made  it,  let  her 
drink  it." 

"  You  see,"  I  said ;  and  he  nodded  in  agreement. 

Then  his  man  came  back  and  reported  that  the 
horses  were  two  good  ones  and  that  the  saddles  were 
soaked  as  if  they  had  been  exposed  to  the  fury  of 
the  storm;  thus  bearing  out  my  story. 

But  at  that  point  I  made  a  serious  blunder.  As 
he  turned  to  listen  to  his  man's  report  I  picked  up 
the  passports.  He  saw  me,  and  snatched  at  the  rest 
of  the  papers. 

"You  mustn't  touch  those,"  he  said  angrily. 
"  Return  me  those  two  you  have  taken." 


i  io    IN  THE  CAUSE  OF  FREEDOM 

Instead,  I  put  them  back  in  my  pocket.  "  They 
are  our  passports,"  I  answered ;  "  I  am  an  English- 
man, and  have  a  right  to  retain  them." 

"  Give  them  to  me,"  he  repeated. 

"  They  are  necessary  to  me,  and  I  must  keep 
them.  I  am  doing  no  more  than  is  my  right." 

Just  then  his  man  bent,  and  whispered  in  his  ear. 
"  I  had  forgotten,"  he  said.  "  My  man  here  reads 
English  well.  Let  him  see  them." 

"  They  have  already  been  examined,  and  I  must 
keep  them." 

"  We  shall  see,"  he  exclaimed  very  angrily.  With 
that  he  gave  the  rest  of  the  papers  to  the  man  who 
went  through  them  carefully. 

"  I  am  inclined  to  believe  your  story,  but  your 
conduct  is  in  some  ways  very  suspicious.  Will  you 
return  me  those  papers  ?  " 

"  No.     I  have  shown  them.     That  is  enough." 

Then  the  man  drew  his  attention  to  a  paper. 

"  Ah !     What  do  you  say  your  name  is  ?  " 

"  Robert  Garrett,  an  Englishman." 

"  Then  who  is  Robert  Anstruther?  " 

In  a  moment  my  heart  fell.  I  knew  what  was 
coming  ? 

"  I  don't  understand  you." 

"  Here  is  a  letter  of  credit  for  a  large  sum  of 
money,  the  name  on  it  is  Robert  Anstruther.  Ex- 
plain your  possession  of  it." 

I  tried  to  affect  indifference.  "  Oh,  that !  "  I  ex- 
claimed. "  Robert  Anstruther  is  my  cousin,  and 
I  am  taking  it  to  him  to  Cracow." 


THE  HAG  TO  THE  RESCUE     m 

But  he  didn't  believe  me. 

"  You  say  you  are  English,  and  this  lady  your 
sister?" 

'  You  have  seen  our  passports  proving  that," 

"  Now  you  can  speak  to  her,"  he  said  to  his  man. 
I  saw  the  scheme  of  course,  instantly. 

"  You  are  Miss  Garrett?  "  the  man  asked  in  ex- 
cellent English. 

Lies,  like  curses,  have  a  nasty  habit  of  coming 
home  to  roost ;  and  for  the  moment  I  was  at  the  end 
of  my  wits.  The  game  was  nearly  up. 

;'  Yes,"  said  Volna,  very  nervously. 

"  My  superior  doubts  that  you  are  English;  just 
tell  me  anything  you  please  that  I  may  hear  you 
speak  English ! " 

"  Don't  bother  with  him,  Peggy,"  I  declared  in 
English,  putting  up  a  last  bluff  of  indignation. 
"  I'm  not  going  to  have  my  sister  bullied.  Put  your 
questions  to  me." 

"  It  is  a  very  simple  test." 

"  Hang  your  simple  tests.  We've  had  more  than 
enough  of  your  tomfoolery." 

"  You  refuse  to  speak  ?  "  he  asked  her  again. 

"  Yes.  At  all  events  I  refuse  to  allow  you  or 
any  one  else  to  browbeat  her.  We  have  nearly  lost 
our  lives  here;  and  now,  when  she  is  all  to  pieces, 
you  not  only  take  us  for  a  couple  of  murderous 
ruffians  and  want  to  arrest  us,  but  you  try  this  sort 
of  infernal  nonsense." 

I  left  him  in  no  doubt  that  I  was  English,  and 
voluble  enough,  too.  He  shrugged  his  shoulders, 


ii2    IN  THE  CAUSE  OF  FREEDOM 

and  told  his  chief  the  result  of  the  test;  and  they 
whispered  together. 

"  You  are  Robert  Garrett  of  Wyrley  Hall,  Great 
Malverton  ?  "  he  asked  me  then  in  English. 

"  I've  told  you  who  I  am." 

"  Then  how  is  it  that  Robert  Anstruther  in  the 
letter  of  credit,  is  described  as  of  that  address?" 

"  Can't  one  relative  live  with  another  ? "  I 
laughed. 

"  Permit  me  to  see  the  address  on  the  passport." 

"  There  is  none.  You  ought  to  know  that ;  "  and 
with  a  scoff  I  unfolded  it  and  shewed  him. 

"  I  don't  mean  there.  I  mean  on  the  outside, 
where  the  name  and  address  are  both  written." 

"  I  am  going  to  be  baited  no  longer,"  I  rattled 
back  sharply,  and  was  putting  the  papers  away 
again  when  he  snatched  them  from  me.  A  glance 
was  enough  to  prove  the  inconsistency  of  my  state- 
ment ;  and  he  reported  this  to  his  chief,  who  put  my 
papers  away  and  rose. 

"  We  shall  take  you  all  four  to  the  police  office  at 
Schirmskad,"  he  decided. 

I  had  not  the  least  intention  of  letting  him  do 
anything  of  the  kind;  but  my  unwillingness  was  as 
smoke  to  fire  compared  with  that  of  the  woman  and 
her  husband.  She  broke  out  into  a  violent  tirade 
swearing  she  was  innocent  and  would  not  go. 

"  Resist  at  your  peril,"  cried  the  chief  in  a  loud 
ringing  tone;  and  he  and  his  man  drew  their 
revolvers. 

There  was  a  moment  of  dead  silence.    My  eyes 


THE  HAG  TO  THE  RESCUE      113 

were  on  the  chief,  and  I  saw  a  shadow  of  perplexity 
cloud  his  face.  I  read  it  to  mean  that  he  had 
his  doubts  how  to  get  us  all  four  away;  if  we 
resisted. 

It  was  a  queer  turn  of  the  wheel  that  Volna  and 
I  should  have  to  make  common  cause  with  the 
wretches  who  had  attempted  our  lives.  I  did  not 
wish  them  to  escape ;  but  our  own  escape  was  much 
more  to  us  than  their  capture  at  that  moment;  and 
like  the  chief  I  was  thinking  intently  what  to  do. 

Glancing  round  the  room  his  eye  fell  on  the  two 
ropes. 

"  Hand  me  those  cords,"  he  said  to  me,  curtly. 

"  I  am  no  police  agent,"  I  shot  back. 

"  I  call  on  you  to  help  me." 

"  You  forget ;  you  have  arrested  me.  You  must 
do  your  own  work." 

The  old  hag's  eyes  were  on  us  as  she  drank  in 
every  word;  and  she  nudged  her  husband  and 
whispered  to  him. 

"  Don't  you  mean  to  charge  them  with  attempt- 
ing your  lives  ?  "  asked  the  chief. 

"  You  have  arrested  me,"  I  returned,  shortly. 

"  Tie  those  two  together,"  he  said,  turning  to  his 
assistant. 

To  get  the  cords  the  man  had  either  to  pass  the 
woman  or  drive  her  before  him  to  the  end  of  the 
room.  He  tried  the  latter  course  and  pushed  her 
violently.  She  fell  to  the  ground,  and,  letting  out  a 
yell  shrill  enough  to  wake  a  cataleptic,  clasped  his 
legs,  and  pulled  him  down;  and  in  a  moment,  a 


ii4    IN  THE  CAUSE  OF  FREEDOM 

noisy  rough  and  tumble  scuffle  was  set  going  be- 
tween the  three. 

The  chief  ran  to  help  his  man,  and  I  took  advan- 
tage of  the  moment  to  open  the  door  and  put  Volna 
outside. 

"  Stop  there,"  cried  the  chief,  holding  me  up  with 
his  levelled  revolver. 

"  I  am  merely  putting  my  sister  out  of  the  way 
of  trouble." 

"  Move  an  inch  and  I  shall  fire,"  he  shouted. 

But  the  words  scarcely  passed  his  lips  before  he 
came  staggering  wildly  toward  me;  his  arms  went 
up  and  his  pistol  was  fired  in  the  air.  The  woman 
had  in  some  way  extricated  herself  from  the  struggle 
on  the  floor,  and  his  back  being  turned  to  her  as  she 
rose,  she  pushed  him  violently  toward  me.  I  caught 
him  and  helped  myself  to  his  revolver. 

We  were  struggling  together  when  the  woman, 
who  had  seized  hold  of  the  lamp,  passed  us  and 
dashed  it  violently  into  the  heap  of  saturated  hay 
and  shavings. 

The  effect  was  instantaneous.  A  blinding  flare 
of  flame  burst  out,  almost  like  an  explosion,  and  a 
volume  of  pungent  suffocating  smoke  filled  the 
place. 

Volna,  quick-witted  as  ever,  wrenched  the  door 
open,  and  I  staggered  out  after  her  into  the  night, 
dragging  the  chief  with  me. 


CHAPTER   XI 

FATHER  AMBROSE 

THE  pendulum  of  luck  had  swung  over  again  to 
our  side  and  I  lost  no  time  in  taking  advantage 
of  it.  I  pushed  the  man  away  from  me  at  random, 
and  chanced  to  send  him  staggering  up  against  the 
two  police  horses  which  were  tied  up  close  to  the 
door.  They  were  already  snorting  with  fear  at  the 
fire,  and  they  now  began  to  plunge  and  kick  and 
rear  until  they  had  dragged  themselves  free  and 
dashed  off  into  the  darkness. 

Nor  was  this  all  the  luck. 

"  Come,"  I  cried  to  Volna.  We  ran  to  the  shed 
and  found  our  own  animals  standing  ready  saddled 
outside.  "  They  were  going  to  bolt  on  our  horses," 
I  said,  as  I  put  her  in  the  saddle  and  then  mounted. 

"Which  is  the  way?" 

"  Any  way.  We're  in  luck ;  let  us  trust  to  it," 
I  answered;  and  guided  by  the  light  of  the  fire 
which  was  now  consuming  the  whole  house,  we 
pushed  along  at  random  as  quickly  as  we  could. 
Fortune  was  with  us  still.  We  gained  the  road,  and 
in  a  few  minutes  were  rattling  back  at  a  brisk  pace 
along  the  road  we  had  travelled  so  laboriously  in 
the  storm  some  hours  before. 

"  I  had  given  everything  up,"  said  Volna,  when 
we  were  breathing  the  horses  and  were  able  to  talk. 

115 


n6    IN  THE  CAUSE  OF  FREEDOM 

"  I  had  the  papers  in  my  hand  ready  to  throw  them 
into  the  blaze." 

"  I  am  glad  you  didn't.  We'll  get  them  through 
yet;  but  just  how  to  do  it  is  the  question.  We've 
escaped  by  sheer  luck  and  that  old  hag's  devilment 
in  firing  the  house;  but  they've  got  the  passports, 
all  my  papers  and  what's  almost  as  bad,  nearly  all 
my  money." 

"  I  have  a  little  money.  But  do  you  think  we 
could  get  across  the  frontier  ?  " 

"  We  shall  have  to  do  it  at  night,  because  we  must 
manage  to  sneak  over  somewhere  unseen.  If  we 
knew  the  district  it  would  be  easier;  but  even  then 
we  should  have  to  lie  low  somewhere  all  through 
the  day.  We  may  bet  on  it  that  when  that  fellow 
gets  back  from  the  fire  he'll  spread  out  a  pretty  wide 
search  party  for  us." 

"  Does  Sylvia  ever  offer  you  suggestions  ?  "  she 
asked. 

I  smiled.     "  Has  Peggy  one  ?  " 

She  nodded.  "  She's  a  little  bit  afraid  to  offer 
it." 

"  That's  rather  rough  on  Bob,  isn't  it?  " 

"  Paul  always  ridicules  anything  I  say — never 
thinks  any  woman,  but  Katinka,  can  have  a  sensible 
idea." 

"Why  shouldn't  Bob  think  as  much  of  Peggy's 
notions  as  Paul  does  of  Katinka's?" 

"  I  like  that,"  she  said,  answering  my  smile. 
"  But  it's  rather  a  wild  suggestion." 

"  Let's  have  it." 


FATHER  AMBROSE  J1? 

"  Couldn't  we  go  back  to  that  village,  Kervatje, 
and  get  Father  Ambrose  to  help  us?  He  was 
mother's  friend." 

"  Humph !  It  is  rather  a  wild  one,  as  you 
say." 

"  I  believe  we  could  trust  him." 

"  And  suppose  he  said  no  ?  " 

"  We  could  have  shelter  for  the  day  at  least  and 
could  try  any  other  plan  that  offered." 

"  He  might  give  us  away." 

"  His  eyes  didn't  look  like  that  when  he  spoke  of 
mother." 

"  We'd  have  to  confess  we  fooled  him." 

"  Leave  me  to  do  that." 

"  Your  instinct  is  to  trust  him  ?  " 

"  Yes.  I  feel  as  sure  of  him  as  I  did  of — of  Bob 
that  morning." 

"  That  settles  it.  I  can't  mistrust  that  instinct. 
Come  on ; "  and  off  we  rattled  again  at  a  pace  we 
relished  a  deal  better  than  the  scarcely  rested  horse 
under  me. 

"  I  wonder  what  has  happened  at  the  cottage," 
said  Volna  when  we  eased  up  later. 

"  I  have  a  sort  of  sneaking  hope  that  the  woman 
got  away  despite  her  villainous  attempt  on  us." 

"  What  a  fiend  of  a  woman !  " 

"  Her  fiendishness  it  was  that  saved  us  from 
heaven  knows  what  trouble.  I  was  cudgelling  my 
wits  to  know  how  to  get  out  of  the  mess.  She  was 
a  cunning  devil,  too,  in  her  way." 

"  And  the  man,  too.     A  man !  " 


ii8     IN  THE  CAUSE  OF  FREEDOM 

"  She  was  the  man  in  that  house.  Say  what 
you  will,  it  was  awfully  smart  to  spring  that  accusa- 
tion against  us." 

"  I  hope  she'll  be  punished,"  said  Volna. 

"  Oh,  she'll  get  there  some  day — if  not  now.  But 
you  are  the  wonder  to  me.  To  go  through  all  you 
have  in  the  last  few  hours  and  yet  be  as  fresh  as — 
as  paint.  Sylvia  has  pluck  and  all  that;  but  she'd 
go  to  bed  after  a  rough  and  tumble  of  this  sort." 

"  That's  the  first  thing  I  shall  ask  the  priest  to 
let  me  do." 

"  He'll  be  a  bit  surprised  when  we  walk  in,  I 
expect,"  I  laughed.  "  It's  a  pretty  cool  thing  you're 
letting  us  into." 

"  Do  you  think  there's  any  chance  of  our  being 
followed?" 

"  Not  yet.  I  fancy  they'll  have  their  hands  full 
enough  with  the  other  couple.  We  shall  be  miles 
on  our  way  before  they  could  start  after  us;  and 
it's  too  early  for  any  one  to  be  about  to  tell  them 
which  way  we've  gone." 

This  proved  to  be  the  case.  We  did  not  meet  a 
soul  until  we  had  ridden  many  miles  and  were  near- 
ing  the  forked  road  at  the  top  of  the  hill  which  the 
priest  had  mentioned  to  me.  There  we  passed  two 
or  three  peasants  dressed  in  their  best. 

"  That  explains  it,"  I  said. 

"  What  explains,  what  ?" 

"  Why  we  have  seen  no  one  about.  It's  Sunday 
morning  and  those  people  are  going  in  to  mass. 
Your  friend  the  priest  is  evidently  popular." 


FATHER  AMBROSE  119 

"  Can  we  reach  the  village  before  mass  time?  " 

"  No.  We  had  better  finish  the  journey  on  foot. 
My  idea  is  to  turn  off  somewhere  at  the  bottom 
of  the  hill  and  just  leave  the  horses.  We  can't  very 
well  quarter  them  on  the  priest  as  well  as  ourselves. 
Besides,  it  would  cause  much  more  gossip  than 
if  we  were  to  arrive  on  foot  And  gossip  is 
dangerous." 

On  reaching  the  bottom  of  the  hill,  we  turned  off 
and  rode  a  mile  or  so,  when  I  saw  a  shed  in  a  very 
lonely  spot  on  a  hill  side.  I  slipped  the  saddles  off 
and  led  the  horses  through  a  couple  of  fields  and 
shut  them  into  the  barn. 

"  No  one  is  likely  to  be  there  till  to-morrow,  so 
we  may  get  them  again  this  afternoon  if  necessary," 
I  said  as  I  returned  to  Volna  with  the  bridles. 
"  There's  a  bit  of  feed  on  the  place  and  that'll  keep 
them  quiet.  Now  we'll  hide  these  things  in  the 
wood  yonder;  and  leave  the  rest  to  chance." 

I  buried  the  saddles  under  a  heap  of  brushwood, 
and  we  made  our  way  back  to  the  main  road  and 
soon  reached  the  village. 

"  I  feel  disgracefully  dirty,"  said  Volna,  as  one 
or  two  of  the  villagers  eyed  us  curiously. 

"  They'll  only  think  we've  come  some  distance 
to  mass;  and  they  are  accustomed  to  the  sight  of 
dirty  people  about  here." 

Volna  laughed.  "Thank  you.  But  even  here 
the  people  wash  themselves  on  Sunday." 

"  Here's  the  priest's  house,  next  the  church,"  I 
answered  irrelevantly.  We  walked  up  to  it  and 


120    IN  THE  CAUSE  OF  FREEDOM 

just  as  we  reached  the  door  it  was  opened  by  a 
woman,  bonnetted  and  prayer  book  in  hand. 

I  stepped  inside  without  shewing  any  hesitation; 
as  if  we  were  expected.  "  Good-morning.  Is  Father 
Ambrose  in  his  study  or  already  at  church?" 

"  The  Father  is  in  church,  sir.  You  can't  come 
in,  please,"  she  replied,  resenting  our  intrusion. 

"  I  was  afraid  we  should  be  just  too  late  and  too 
early,"  I  said  lightly  to  Volna.  "  He  said  before 
ten  or  after  half-past  twelve.  But  we  couldn't 
manage  it." 

"  Is  the  Father  expecting  you,  sir  ?  " 

"  Well,  not  exactly  at  this  moment  evidently,  or 
he  would  have  told  you  to  be  ready  for  us.  But 
we  can  wait,  and  my  sister  will  be  greatly  obliged 
to  you  if  you  can  let  her  just  wash  her  face  and 
hands." 

"  I  am  on  my  way  to  mass,  sir;  the  Father  said 
nothing  to  me  of  your  coming." 

"  So  I  see,  my  good  soul.  But  did  he  not  tell 
you  we  were  likely  to  come  for  breakfast  ?  " 

"  The  Father  fasts  until  mass  on  Sunday,  sir." 

"  Yes,  of  course,  but  I  am  not  a  priest :  nor  is 
my  sister." 

She  hesitated  and  then  led  us  into  the  study. 

Volna  threw  herself  with  a  sigh  of  fatigue  on  to 
one  of  the  hard  wooden  chairs;  took  off  her  hat 
and  with  a  smile  exclaimed  in  the  most  natural  way 
in  the  world :  "  Dear  Father  Ambrose.  He  is  one 
of  my  mother's  dearest  friends." 

It  was  such  apparently  ingenuous  evidence  of 


FATHER  AMBROSE  121 

sincerity  that  the  good  woman  was  instantly  and 
most  favourably  impressed. 

"  Excuse  me  a  minute,"  she  said,  and  went  out. 

"  How  readily  you  tell  them,  Bob,"  said  Volna, 
smiling. 

"It  was  your  acting  that  carried  us  through, 
young  lady.  Dear  Father  Ambrose,  indeed.  As  if 
you  had  known  him  all  your  life." 

"  I  think  she's  going  to  let  us  stay." 

She  came  in  again  then,  having  taken  off  her 
bonnet.  "  Will  you  come  with  me  ?  "  she  said  to 
Volna,  who  rose.  "  The  Father's  dressing  room  is 
through  there,  sir,"  she  added  to  me,  pointing  to  a 
door. 

I  made  use  of  it  promptly;  washed  and  shaved 
and  did  what  I  could  to  make  myself  look  less  like 
a  tramp,  before  I  returned  to  the  good  man's  study. 

I  must  confess  that  the  prospect  of  meeting  him 
was  vastly  less  to  my  taste  now  than  it  had  appeared 
when  we  were  twenty  miles  away;  and  I  paced  the 
floor  considerably  ill  at  ease. 

Presently  Volna  came  in,  looking  as  neat  and 
natty  as  if  all  the  events  of  the  past  day  and  a  half 
were  a  dream. 

"  How  on  earth  have  you  managed  it?"  I  cried, 
gazing  at  her  in  sheer  admiration. 

"That  is  the  dearest  old  soul  in  whom  nature 
ever  planted  the  curiosity  of  a  woman.  She  just 
fussed  over  me  as  though  she  was  a  hen  and  I  her 
one  chicken." 

"  You  look  as  though  you  hadn't  had  anything  to 


122     IN  THE  CAUSE  OF  FREEDOM 

make  you  turn  a  hair  for  the  last  fortnight.  The 
way  you  girls  manage  these  renovations  always 
beats  me.  Twenty  miles  away  you  said  you  wanted 
to  go  to  bed;  and  here  you  are  as  fresh  as  paint." 

"You  said  that  before;  but  it  isn't  paint,"  she 
answered.  "  I've  another  feeling  now  than  a  desire 
to  sleep." 

"  So  have  I — disinclination  to  meet  the  priest. 
Is  that  what  you  mean  ?  " 

She  laughed  and  shook  her  head.  "  No,  indeed, 
I  mean  a  desire  to  eat.  I  was  never  so  hungry  in 
my  life." 

"  It's  a  very  human  feeling ;  but  I  wish  you 
hadn't  said  anything  about  it,"  I  replied. 

"  I'm  a  very  human  individual,  if  it  comes  to 
that.  I  declare  I  could  even  relish  some  of  that 
awful  woman's  black  bread." 

Most  aptly  the  housekeeper  came  to  tell  us  she 
had  prepared  some  breakfast  for  us  in  the  opposite 
room.  "  The  good  Father  would  have  wished  this," 
she  said.  "  It  is  the  best  I  can  do  for  the  moment." 

Eggs,  ham,  potted  meats,  good  white  wheaten 
bread,  butter  and  delicious  coffee  needed  no  sort  of 
apology.  It  was  like  a  feast  for  the  gods  in  our 
famished  eyes;  and  down  we  sat  at  once.  We  had 
nearly  finished  and  were  lingering  over  the  coffee 
and  laughing  carelessly  together  at  something  which 
Volna  had  said — I  had  my  cup  in  my  hand,  I 
remember — when  the  door  was  opened  all  unex- 
pectedly and  the  priest  entered. 

I  don't  think  I  ever  felt  so  foolish  and  confused 


FATHER  AMBROSE  123 

in  my  life.  I  set  the  cup  down,  flushed  to  the  roots 
of  my  hair,  and  rose  with  a  most  shame-faced, 
down-at-heel  manner,  stammering-  some  kind  of 
apology,  as  I  met  his  grave,  protesting,  surprised 
look. 

But  Volna  came  to  the  rescue  with  magnificent 
self-possession.  Girls  have  these  inspirations  and 
beat  us  hollow  in  such  cases.  Without  a  sign  of 
awkwardness  or  self-consciousness  she  rose  and 
went  up  to  him,  smiling  winsomely. 

"  Father  Ambrose,  I  am  in  sore  trouble  and  have 
come  to  ask  my  dear  mother's  old  friend  to  help 
me." 

It  was  an  inspiration.  Nothing  less.  All  the 
protest  died  out  of  his  eyes  in  the  softened  look  of 
puzzled  inquiry  he  bent  on  her. 

"Your  mother?"  he  repeated,  so  gently. 

"  I  am  Volna  Drakona."  He  turned  toward  me. 
"  That  was  not  the  truth  we  told  you  yesterday. 
Before  you  condemn  us,  hear  all  our  story.  My 
mother's  peril  was  the  reason.  You  will  listen  to 
me?" 

"  I  do  not  understand,  but  your  mother's  child 
could  never  appeal  to  me  for  a  hearing  in  vain. 
And  this  gentleman  ?  " 

"  He  is  Mr.  Robert  Anstruther,  an  Englishman, 
who  has  risked  his  liberty  and  his  life  to  help  me." 

I  saw  that  this  partial  explanation  only  added  to 
the  good  man's  utter  bewilderment.  He  stood 
looking  from  one  to  the  other  of  us  and  then  passed 
his  hand  slowly  across  his  brow.  Next  he  laid  it 


i24    IN  THE  CAUSE  OF  FREEDOM 

gently  on  Volna's  head  and  smoothed  her  hair  while 
he  gazed  into  her  face. 

"  Yes,  you  must  be  her  daughter.  Come  to  my 
study  and  just  tell  me  everything." 

He  opened  the  door  for  her  and  I  was  following 
when  he  turned  and  said  courteously  but  with 
unmistakable  significance :  "  I  will  speak  with  you 
afterwards,  sir." 

Then  the  door  closed  on  them. 


CHAPTER   XII 

"  SHE  IS  BETROTHED  " 

T  WAS  by  no  means  sorry  that  Father  Ambrose 
•••  preferred  to  see  Volna  alone.  It  was  her  in- 
fluence, not  mine,  which  would  have  any  effect 
upon  him;  and  it  was  certain  she  would  be  able  to 
exert  that  influence  better  alone  than  if  I  were 
present  at  the  interview. 

I  judged,  too,  that  the  priest  was  shrewd  enough 
to  see  the  wisdom  of  hearing  our  story  from  us 
separately.  I  had  already  told  him  one  falsehood 
and  Volna  had  acquiesced  in  it;  so  that  we  could 
not  blame  him  for  using  any  caution  which  his 
suspicions  might  prompt. 

That  she  would  win  him  round  to  her  side,  I  had 
little  doubt.  My  faith  in  her  made  me  very  confi- 
dent. But  what  would  he  do  then?  What  could 
he  do?  How  could  he,  a  mere  parish  priest,  help 
us  to  turn  our  failure  into  success  and  get  those 
papers  to  Cracow? 

I  had  ample  time  to  meditate  upon  this,  for  it 
was  more  than  an  hour  before  he  came  back  to  me. 
He  looked  exceedingly  grave  and  troubled,  and 
asked  me  to  go  to  his  study.  Volna  was  not  there. 
He  took  his  seat  at  his  writing-table  and  waved 
me  to  one  opposite  to  him;  and  for  a  moment  or 
two  he  said  nothing. 

125 


126    IN  THE  CAUSE  OF  FREEDOM 

I  felt  very  uncomfortable.  Somewhat  as  I  used 
to  feel  in  the  old  Corpus  days  when  carpeted  by  the 
Head.  He  pressed  his  finger  tips  tog-ether,  and 
when  he  spoke  there  was  a  mixture  of  censure  and 
kindness  in  his  tone. 

"  Mr.  Anstruther,  I  don't  know  how  you  regard 
the  falsehood  you  told  me  yesterday  and  induced 
my  friend's  child  to  act?  " 

"  It  was  on  the  impulse  of  the  moment,  and  I  am 
compelled  to  admit  it  was  only  one  of  many  I  have 
had  to  tell  in  the  last  two  days.  But  don't  think  it 
is  my  habit  to  lie." 

"  Your  name  is  really  Robert  Anstruther." 

"  Yes.  But  I  can  give  you  no  proof.  My  papers 
were  taken " 

He  interrupted  with  a  wave  of  the  hand.  "  I 
know.  I  am  aware  that  I  must  take  your  word." 

"  I  have  perhaps  deserved  that  word  '  must,'  but 
it  rankles.  If  you  feel  that  my  action  yesterday 
prevents  your  believing  what  I  tell  you,  we  may  as 
well  close  this  conversation  at  once." 

"  Spoken  hastily,  like  a  young  man,  but  not 
unnatural,  perhaps,  in  the  circumstances.  That  you 
should  have  deceived  me  with  such  ready  specious- 
ness  is  scarcely  calculated,  however,  to  convince  me 
of  your  good  faith.  Perhaps  you  can  appreciate 
that." 

His  cold  tone  and  calm  clear  glance  emphasized 
this,  and  it  hurt.  I  made  no  reply  and  dropped  my 
eyes. 

"  Can  you  see  that  ?  " 


"  SHE  IS  BETROTHED  "          127 

"  You  are  quite  entitled  to  take  your  own  view  of 
it,  of  course.  But  if  the  conditions  were  repeated, 
I  should  probably  do  it  again." 

'  Then  you  would  do  very  wrong,  Mr.  An- 
struther,"  he  said,  with  some  warmth.  "  A  false- 
hood is  not  only  a  sin  in  the  eyes  of  the  church,  but 
wrong  in  every  way." 

"  I  daresay  you  are  quite  right.  I  have  never 
tried  it  as  a  policy  before,  and  it  has  landed  us  in  a 
pretty  bad  mess.  But  if  you  can  show  me  how  we 
could  have  got  out  of  the  hands  of  the  police  with- 
out lying,  I'll  listen  readily.  And  if  we  had  got 
into  them,  the  mess  would  have  been  much  worse 
than  it  is." 

"  If  you  had  been  candid  with  me  yesterday,  all 
the  troubles  since  then  would  have  been  avoided." 

"  They  would  also  have  been  avoided  if  the  storm 
had  not  overtaken  us  and  we  had  not  lost  our  way. 
But  can  we  do  any  good  by  dissecting  causes?  I 
am  man  enough  I  hope  not  to  shirk  responsibility 
for  my  acts.  I  take  all  these  lies  on  my  own  shoul- 
ders. They  appeared  to  be  necessary.  The  neces- 
sity no  longer  exists,  and  I  shall  tell  you  none.  If 
you  can't  believe  me,  there  is  an  end  of  things. 
That's  all." 

He  sat  for  perhaps  a  minute  frowning  in  thought- 
ful silence.  "  Will  you  tell  me  exactly  all  that  has 
occurred  ?  " 

"  Has  Volna  told  you?  "  I  asked. 

"  Yes;  but  I  wish  to  hear  it  from  you  also." 

"A  natural  precaution,"  I  admitted;  and  then 


128    IN  THE  CAUSE  OF  FREEDOM 

told  him  as  succinctly  as  I  could  everything  from 
the  moment  of  the  meeting  at  Bratinsk  station. 

He  listened  very  closely,  interposing  some  ques- 
tions now  and  then,  and  when  I  finished  lapsed  into 
thought  again. 

Presently,  with  a  smile,  he  said :  "  You  have  left 
some  things  unmentioned." 

"  Not  intentionally." 

"  Descriptive  of  your  own  acts  in  places — at 
least,  as  told  to  me." 

"  I  have  said  all  that  need  be  said.  Volna  may 
take  an  exaggerated  view  of  some  things." 

"  I  think  I  have  done  you  an  injustice,  Mr. 
Anstruther." 

"  That  is  of  no  consequence." 

"  Tell  me,  why  did  you  plunge  into  this  hazardous 
matter?" 

"  I  don't  think  that  matters.  Put  it  that  I  liked 
the  prospect  of  an  adventure.  That  is  quite  true." 

"Is  it  all  the  truth?" 

"  There  is  no  falsehood  in  it,  Father.  We'll  leave 
it  there,  please." 

He  looked  at  me  very  earnestly  indeed  and  then 
held  out  his  hand.  "  Will  you  let  me  beg  your 
pardon  ?  "  he  asked. 

I  grasped  the  hand  cordially  and  shook  my  head. 
"  No,  I  will  not.  If  I  had  been  in  your  place  I 
should  have  been  much  more  suspicious.  You  hurt 
me  when  you  thought  I  might  lie  to  you.  But  you 
see  now  that  I  shall  not.  And  that's  all." 

"  The  child  is  very  dear  to  me  for  her  mother's 


"SHE  IS  BETROTHED"          129 

sake,  and  I  see  that  you  had  absolutely  nothing  to 
expect  in  helping  her  except  the  risk  and  danger 
that  you  ran." 

"  I  ran  no  risk.  I  have  powerful  and  very  influ- 
ential friends  who  will  see  me  through  all  right." 

"  That  I  did  not  understand,"  he  said  quickly. 
"  It  makes  a  difference.  It  will  be  easier."  He 
spoke  rather  to  himself  than  to  me  it  seemed.  "  You 
are  sure  you  can  rely  upon  your  friends  ?  "  he  asked 
presently. 

"  My  father  carried  through  some  large  financial 
matters  for  the  German  Government  from  time  to 
time,  and  I  myself  have  had  evidence  of  the  good 
will  of  several  men  high  in  office  in  Berlin." 

"  But  this  is  Russia,  Mr.  Anstruther." 

"  True,  but  their  influence  would  not  stop  at  the 
frontier.  You  may  take  it  from  me,  I  am  in  no 
sort  of  danger." 

"  What  are  your  plans  ?  " 

"  To  get  those  papers  through  to  Cracow.  How, 
may  depend  upon  you  in  some  measure." 

He  paused  and  then  said  slowly :  "  They  are  on 
their  way  already." 

I  sat  up  in  intense  surprise.  "On  their  way? 
Why,  has " 

He    understood    the    unfinished    question    and 
smiled.     "  No,  she  has  not  taken  them.     But  they 
will  be  in  Cracow  to-night.    A  day  has  been  lost- 
precious  hours,  perhaps — by  your  action  yesterday." 

I  drew  a  deep  breath  of  bewilderment. 

"  You  do  not  understand  the  wide-reaching  in- 


130    IN  THE  CAUSE  OF  FREEDOM 

fluence  of  the  Fraternity,  Mr.  Anstruther,  and  had 
better  ask  no  questions.  But  now  that  the  papers 
are  gone,  what  are  your  plans  ?  " 

"  I  had  not  got  as  far  as  that.    I  have  none." 

"  You  will  wish  to  return  to  England  ?  " 

I  hesitated.  There  was  something  behind  his 
question  I  could  not  read.  "  I  suppose  so — yes,  of 
course  I  shall  return  there.  My  home  is  there." 

He  bent  a  kind  but  searching  look  on  me.  "  I 

hope  you  think  I  am  your  friend  as  well  as " 

he  said  after  a  pause,  leaving  the  sentence  unfin- 
ished. 

"  Oh,  yes  indeed.  I  should  be  sorry  not  to  think 
so.  Is — is  Volna  going  home  to  Warsaw  ?  " 

"  Have  you  been  quite  frank  with  me  ?  I  don't 
mean  that  unkindly,"  he  hastened  to  add  in  reply 
to  a  start  from  me.  "  As  to  your  motive  in  all 
this?  It  will  be  best  to  be  quite  frank.  Young 
folks  are  young  folks  all  the  world  over." 

"  I  should  be  sorry  to  misunderstand  you,"  I  said. 

"  You  entered  into  this  thing  from  love — of  ad- 
venture only?" 

"  As  it  is  over,  does  my  motive  matter?" 

He  shook  his  head  slowly.  "  It  may.  It  may. 
I  don't  know.  It  may.  I  am  so  afraid  of  appear- 
ing impertinent,  or  of  making  a  mistake.  We  old 
people  fall  so  readily  into  mistakes,"  he  said  with 
a  deprecating  smile. 

"  Don't  you  think  the  best  way  to  avoid  them  is 
to  speak  plainly?  " 

He  picked  up  a  sheet  of  paper  and  played  with  it 


"SHE  IS  BETROTHED"          131 

with  a  suggestion  of  nervousness.  "  I  am  tempted 
to  tell  you  a  story,  a  chapter  of  my  life,  Mr.  An- 
struther.  I  was  not  originally  intended  for  the 
priesthood;  but  was  to  have  married.  I  was  be- 
trothed, in  fact.  Then  something  happened — the 
result  of  misunderstanding — I  knew  afterwards 
how  easily  it  could  have  been  avoided,  but  it  was 
not  avoided;  other  influences  intervened,  and — 
and  so  the  marriage  which  took  place  was  not  mine ; 
and  I  am  now  a  priest  with  just  a  memory.  Does 
that  incline  you  to  any  special  frankness  with  me 
as  to  your  motives  in  this  ?  " 

"  You  mean  with  regard  to  Volna  ?  " 
He  looked  at  me  again  very  intently.     "You 
know  that  she  is  betrothed?  "  he  asked. 
"  Oh,  yes.    She  told  me  her  uncle's  plans." 
His  look  now  was  more  sympathetic  and  kind 
than  searching;  and  he  sighed.     "Ah,  you  do  not 
know,  I  see." 

"  I  am  not  a  child,  Father  Ambrose." 
"  I  can  say  no  more.  I  ought  not,  perhaps,  to 
have  said  so  much.  I  am  going  to  deal  with  you 
as  a  man,  Mr.  Anstruther.  Of  course  all  that  has 
occurred  in  these  two  days  must  never  be  men- 
tioned. The  dear  child's  future  must  not  be  com- 
promised." 

"  It  will  not  pass  my  lips." 
"  You  and  I  together  can  secure  her  safety;  I  am 
going  to  ask  your  help.    She  will  remain  here  until 
I  can  get  her  back  safely  to  Warsaw." 
"  I  will  do  anything  to  secure  her  safety." 


1 32     IN  THE  CAUSE  OF  FREEDOM 

"  The  one  thing  you  can  do  is  to  put  yourself  in 
the  hands  of  the  police." 

"The  police?" 

"You  say  your  friends  will  help  you  in  any 
explanation." 

"  I  don't  follow  you  yet." 

"  The  police  have  tracked  you  here  from  Bra- 
tinsk.  They  were  in  the  village  yesterday  evening. 
They  are  coming  to  me  again  this  afternoon.  It 
happens  that  my  housekeeper's  niece  was  to  have 
come  here  to-day — in  a  village  like  this  all  private 
matters  are  public,  you  know.  She  is  not  coming, 
but  Volna  can  take  her  place  for  the  time  without 
any  suspicion  being  aroused.  What  you  have  to  do 
is  to  cause  the  police  to  believe  that  Volna  has 
crossed  the  frontier  with  you  and  that  you  have  re- 
turned alone." 

"  How  cause  them  to  believe  this  ?  " 

"  Go  and  get  your  horse  and  ride  through  the 
village  this  afternoon  and  call  here." 

"  Here !  "  I  cried  in  astonishment. 

"  Yes.  I  shall  then  send  for  the  police  agents 
and  hand  you  over  to  them,  as  the  man  who  told  me 
the  falsehoods  yesterday.  This  will  clear  this  house 
of  the  danger  of  any  suspicion." 

I  could  not  restrain  a  smile,  remembering  how  he 
had  emphasized  the  heinousness  of  falsehoods.  "  It 
will  at  least  be  in  a  good  cause,"  I  said. 

"  God  forgive  me — but  the  child  must  be  saved, 
Mr.  Anstruther.  You'll  do  this?"- 

"Why,  of  course." 


"SHE  IS  BETROTHED"          133 

"  And  when  your  trouble  is  over,  you  will  go  to 
England?" 

"  One  thing  at  a  time.  They  might  send  me  to 
Siberia." 

"  It  will  be  best  so,"  he  said  earnestly. 

"  What?    Siberia  for  me?  "  I  laughed. 

"No,  no.  God  forbid.  England — England  as 
soon  as  you  can." 

"And  Volna?     Does  she — know  of  this?" 

"  Indeed,  no.  Her  one  thought  is  of  the  trouble 
she  may  already  have  brought  upon  you.  She  would 
never  agree  to  it." 

I  believed  that.  "  Should  I — see  her  to — to  say 
good-bye?  " 

This  perplexed  him.  "  It  would  be  better  not, 
but " — his  eyes  wandered  all  round  the  room  before 
he  finished — "  I  suppose  she  would  wish  it.  And 
you  won't  meet  again  and — and  you'll  tell  her  you 
are  going  home  to  England?  " 

"  I'm  afraid  you  must  leave  it  to  me  what  to 
say,"  I  replied,  with  a  smile.  "  I  think  you  may 
trust  my  discretion.  And  you  must  do  your  part 
afterwards  carefully.  Keep  her  out  of  the  way 
when  we  play  the  comedy  of  that  arrest  later,  or 
she  may  cast  herself  for  a  part  in  it.  She's  plucky 
enough  to  avow  herself,  and  that  would  mix  things 
up  a  good  deal  for  us  all,  you  know." 

He  frowned,  threw  up  his  hands  in  troubled  per- 
plexity and  pushed  his  chair  back. 

"We  had  better  get  it  over,"  he  exclaimed 
resignedly.  "  I'll  go  and  tell  her  you  are  leaving." 


i34    IN  THE  CAUSE  OF  FREEDOM 

He  walked  toward  the  door,  paused,  and  turned 
as  if  to  say  something  more,  then  tossed  up  his 
hands  again  and  went  out  of  the  room. 

I  stared  out  of  the  window  into  the  small,  but 
carefully  tended  garden,  a  prey  to  the  very  mixed 
thoughts  which  the  good  Father  had  succeeded  in 
rousing. 

Then  the  door  opened  and  Volna  came  in  alone. 


CHAPTER  XIII 

VOLNA  IS  A  LITTLE  REFRACTORY 

OHE  was  dressed  for  her  new  character  of  the 
^  housekeeper's  niece,  and  wore  a  white  apron 
and  a  peasant  girl's  picturesque  head-dress. 

She  closed  the  door  behind  her,  dropped  me  a 
little  curtsey  and  said  with  the  demurest  of  glances : 
"  Did  you  please  to  send  for  me,  sir?  "  Then  she 
burst  out  laughing  and  ran  to  me,  both  hands  out- 
stretched, as  though  we  had  not  met  for  a  long  time. 
"Now,  wasn't  my  instinct  right?" 

I  held  her  hands  apart  while  I  surveyed  her  cos- 
tume. "  Who  was  ever  so  foolish  as  to  question 
it?" 

"  And  isn't  the  Father  just  the  dearest  old  man 
in  the  world  ?  " 

"  The  world  is  a  big  place  and  there  are  lots  of 

old  men  in  it,"  I  answered.     "  But  I  knew  you 

would  win  him  round.     He  had  no  chance  against 

you." 

.  She  laughed  gaily.    "  He  lectured  me,  however." 

"  So  he  did  me." 

"And  to  think  that  if  we  had  only  known,  he 
would  have  taken  care  of  those  papers  yesterday." 

"  And  have  saved  us  from  all  the  horrors  of  last 
night." 


i36    IN  THE  CAUSE  OF  FREEDOM 

She  shot  a  glance  at  me.  "  And  have  freed  you 
from  the  encumbrance  of  a  very  troublesome  sister 
twenty-four  hours  ago." 

"  Yes,  indeed ;  if  we  had  only  known." 

"  You're  in  a  very  agreeing  mood." 

"  I  am  no  longer  a  brother  and  must  be  polite." 

"Do  you  call  that  politeness?" 

"  Politeness  or — policy." 

"  Well,  whichever  it  is,  it's  not  a  bit  nice.  Not 
a  bit  like— Bob." 

"  You  forget.  Bob  is  my  own  name,  as  well  as 
my  friend  Garrett's." 

"  How  formal  you  are.  What  is  the  matter  ? 
You  can't  be  annoyed  about  anything  Father  Am- 
brose has  said  to  you?  Nor  about  his  having 
helped  us?  What  is  it?" 

"  I  didn't  even  know  I  was  formal." 

She  turned  away  to  the  priest's  table  and  sat  in 
his  chair  turning  over  the  books  on  the  desk.  I  sat 
facing  her  as  I  had  faced  the  priest.  Once  she 
sighed,  and  once  shrugged  her  shoulders,  and  twice 
glanced  across  at  me  in  perplexity. 

She  was  very  pretty;  very  bewitching;  more 
pretty  and  bewitching  than  ever,  in  my  eyes;  but 
I  was  conscious  of  a  new  restraint — a  something 
like  a  barrier  between  us  which  had  not  been  there 
before.  I  couldn't  speak  with  the  old  freedom;  in 
fact,  I  could  think  of  nothing  to  say. 

"  Father  Ambrose  tells  me  you  are  going  away," 
she  said  at  length,  her  fingers  still  busy  with  the 
books. 


VOLNA  IS  REFRACTORY         137 

"Yes,  I  am  going  away.  I — I  thought  you'd 
like  me  just  to  say  good-bye." 

"  Well,  I  should  hope  so,  indeed.  After  what 
you've  done  for  me." 

"  Never  mind  about  that,  please.  I  think  I  must 
be  off." 

I  rose;  but  she  paid  no  heed,  just  sitting  on  at 
the  table,  her  face  averted  and  her  fingers  moving 
the  books  restlessly.  I  looked  out  of  the  window, 
fidgetted  a  moment,  and  then  turned  again. 

"  Yes,  I  think  it's  time." 

"  Of  course  I  won't  keep  you,"  she  said  then ; 
very  stiffly  and  without  looking  at  me. 

"  Good-bye  then." 

She  rose  and  held  out  her  hand.  "  Good-bye." 
She  turned  her  face  to  me  and  her  lip  quivered  as 
she  bit  it.  I  recalled  the  priest's  words  about  her 
betrothal ;  and  clamped  down  my  feelings  as  I  took 
her  hand  and  pressed  it. 

"I  wish  you  God-speed  with  all  my  heart,"  I 
said. 

She  lowered  her  eyes  again  and  her  hand  fell 
listlessly  as  I  released  it  and  turned  to  the  door. 
I  had  nearly  reached  it  when  I  heard  the  rustle  of 
her  cotton  dress  and  turned  to  find  her  at  my  elbow. 

"  But  you're  not  going  to  part  like  this  ?  " 

I  should  have  liked  to  part  in  a  very  different 
fashion  could  I  have  had  my  way.  But  I  could 
not. 

"Father  Ambrose  thinks  that  I  had  better  go; 
and  of  course  he  is  right." 


138    IN  THE  CAUSE  OF  FREEDOM 

"  But  Bob  and  Peggy  haven't  said  good-bye. 
Oh,  think  of  all  we've  gone  through  together.  Don't 
go  away  angry  with  me  like  this." 

"Angry!  God  forbid.  Why  you're  just  the 
bravest  little  soul  I  ever  met  in  all  my  life.  And 
some  day  I  hope  Sylvia  and  you  will  meet,  and — 

and "  I  scarcely  knew  what  I  was  saying  and 

ended  in  partial  incoherence. 

"  That's  more  like  you.  I  mean  it's  more  natural, 
except  that  you  generally  know  exactly  what  you 
want  to  say  and  say  it.  Are  you  going  to — to 
England?" 

"  I  don't  think  I  have  any  definite  plans.    I " 

Her  laughter  stopped  me.  She  shook  her  fore- 
finger with  laughing  assumption  of  gravity.  "  If  I 
had  not  ceased  to  be  Peggy,  I  should  say  you  were 
hiding  something  from  me.  And  you  know  how 
true  Peggy's  instincts  are  ?  " 

"What  should  I  have  to  hide?"  I  asked  with 
a  smile. 

"  What  a  mask  of  a  smile,"  she  cried,  with  a  lift- 
ing of  the  hands.  "  Father  Ambrose  is  a  wonder- 
ful man;  he  has  changed  you  completely  in  an 
hour."  She  turned  back  to  the  table  and  sat  down 
again.  "  I  suppose  it  couldn't  be  helped,"  she  added 
half  to  herself  with  a  sigh. 

"  What  could  not  be  helped  ?  " 

She  did  not  reply  at  once  but  looked  up  at  me 
from  under  her  long  lashes,  while  her  feet  tapped 
the  floor  quickly  and  irritably.  "  Of  course  you  are 
doing  this  with  a  purpose,"  she  said  after  the  pause. 


VOLNA  IS  REFRACTORY         139 

"  Why  ?  Oh,  don't  pretend  to  misunderstand  me. 
You  know  as  well  as  I  do  that  you're  entirely 
changed.  It's  so  unjust.  What  have  I  done?  You 
know  that  after  all  you've  done  for  me  I  wouldn't 
do  anything  to  anger  you  for  all  the  world." 

"  Don't  persist  about  my  being  angry." 

"Well,  offended,  then,  only  it's  such  a  stupid 
word.  Estranged,  alienated,  changed;  any  word 
you  like.  Something  has  happened — something 
has  come  between  us.  Do  you  treat  Sylvia  like 
this?  It's  maddening." 

"  There  is  no  change  in  me,"  I  protested. 

She  laughed.  "  It's  in  me,  then,  you  mean. 
That's  almost  cowardly — at  least  it  would  be  if 
any  one  but  you  said  it."  Then  with  a  start  her 
eyes  opened  wide;  she  rose  and  stared  at  me  with 
parted  lips;  and  a  vivid  blush  spread  all  over  her 
face.  "  I  believe  I  understand.  You  think  in  your 
English  way,  that  I  have  been  too  forward,  un- 
womanly, too, — oh !  "  and  she  covered  her  crimson 
cheeks  with  her  white  strenuous  fingers. 

"  Don't  say  that,  please.  Why  the  time  we've 
been  together  has  been  the  brightest  thing  in  the 
world  to  me." 

She  took  her  hands  from  her  face  and  sat  down 
again  staring  at  the  table  while  the  flush  died  out 
of  her  cheeks  slowly.  "I've  gone  all  over  that 
sentence.  That  '  has  been '  is  the  clue.  Now  I  see. 
It's  all  over  and  we  are  conventional  again."  With 
an  exaggerated  affectation  of  a  society  manner  she 
rose  very  slowly,  held  out  her  hand  and  simpered : 


1 40    IN  THE  CAUSE  OF  FREEDOM 

"  I  hope  you  will  have  a  pleasant  journey,  Mr.  An- 
struther.  The  weather  is  still  open  enough  to  be 
excellent  for  travelling-.  Will  you  make  my  com- 
pliments to  your  sister,  and  say  I  hope  to  see  her 
some  day?  " 

I  could  not  restrain  a  smile,  but  not  a  muscle  of 
her  face  moved ;  she  kept  up  the  vapid  simper.  "  I 
will  give  your  message,"  I  said,  and  tried  to  take 
her  hand;  but  she  just  let  me  touch  her  finger-tips 
and  then  bowed. 

"  I  am  so  pleased  to  have  met  you ;  and  thank 
you  so  much  for  all  you  have  done.  I  hope  you'll 
not  take  cold  from  the  rain.  Colds  are  such  dis- 
tressing afflictions."  Then  another  sudden  change. 
With  a  stamp  of  her  foot  she  threw  her  head  back 
and  her  rich  blue  eyes  sparkled.  "  Is  that  better?  " 

I  bowed.     "  I  am  sorry  you  so  misunderstand." 

"  Misunderstand !"  she  repeated,  quickly.  "  I 
don't  misunderstand  that  if  you  were  the  kind  of 
masculine  formality  you  have  been  acting  here  this 
morning  you  would  never  have  done  what  you  have 
for  me  in  the  last  two  days.  I  am  only  a  woman,  of 
course — wait,  you  will  wish  to  see  Father  Ambrose 
again  before  you  go.  I'll  tell  him;  "  and  she  crossed 
to  the  door. 

"  Good-bye,"  I  said,  but  she  paid  no  heed  and 
went  out  of  the  room.  It  was  not  the  kind  of  part- 
ing I  had  looked  for,  but  I  smothered  my  regrets. 
It  was  better  so. 

We  could  not  go  on  being  Bob  and  Peggy  to  one 
another  of  course;  and  yet  we  had  been  too  closely 


VOLNA  IS  REFRACTORY         141 

associated  to  drop  back  into  mere  formal  friendli- 
ness again  without  a  wrench.  She  couldn't  see  this 
in  a  moment;  but  she  would  understand  it  later; 
and — well,  the  sooner  I  was  away,  the  better  for 
my  peace  of  mind. 

Then  she  came  back  bringing  the  priest  with  her. 
He  was  very  plastic  clay  in  her  white  young  hands. 
He  wore  a  look  of  deep  and  almost  comical  per- 
plexity, and  was  obviously  very  ill  at  ease. 

"  Now,  Father,  please.  What  have  you  said  or 
done  to  Mr.  Anstruther  to  change  him  in  this  short 
time?" 

He  glanced  half  appealingly  at  me;  but  I  was  as 
little  at  ease  as  he  was.  "  My  dear  child,  I — I — 
er " 

"You  have  lectured  me  already  on  the  wisdom 
and  necessity  of  complete  frankness,  Father,"  she 
interposed  significantly. 

"  It  is  very  difficult  to  gather "  he  got  no 

farther,  for  she  held  up  a  warning  finger  and  shook 
it  at  him  with  a  laugh  and  then  placed  it  on  his 
lips. 

"  There  shall  not  be  any  difficulty,"  she  declared. 
"  For  two  days  Mr.  Anstruther  has  been  just  like 
a  brother  to  me;  treating  me  perfectly  frankly  and 
saying  as  candidly  as  any  brother  whatever  was  in 
his  thoughts.  We  made  a  compact  that  he  should 
do  that,  and  he  kept  it  honestly.  I  left  him  in  that 
mood  when  I  first  saw  you.  You  then  had  a  long 
talk  with  him  and  I  found  him  entirely  changed; 
keeping  something  from  me;  formal  in  manner; 


142     IN  THE  CAUSE  OF  FREEDOM 

saying  things  he  didn't  mean  and  meaning  others 
he  didn't  say.  Instead  of  a  brother,  he  was  an 
acquaintance.  You  caused  this  by  something  you 
said.  Now  tell  me,  please." 

The  good  man  was  helpless;  so  I  went  to  the 
rescue.  "  It  is  time  for  me  to  go.  You  can  discuss 
this  when  I  have  left." 

"  Wait  a  moment.  Two  things  I  am  certain  of. 
You  two  have  arranged  to  do  something  that  affects 
me  and  you  won't  tell  me;  and  you,  Father,  have 
said  something  about  me  which  has  changed  Mr. 
Anstruther.  I  won't  stand  that.  I  won't  let  him 
go  as  if  we  were  just  how-d'ye-do — and — good-bye 
acquaintances.  He  has  saved  me  from  prison,  and 
I  just  can't  do  it." 

The  embarrassment  was  becoming  almost  painful. 
"  I  should  never  think  of  you  as  a  mere  acquaint- 
ance ;  but  please  let  me  go,"  I  said. 

"  Yes.  You  may  go.  Good-bye — but  don't 
attempt  to  help  me  any  more  if  you  do  go  in  that 
way.  I  will  not  let  either  of  you  help  me,  if  you 
mean  to  deceive  me; "  and  with  fingers  that  trem- 
bled she  took  off  the  head-dress  and  laid  aside  her 
apron.  "  If  you  will  not  tell  me,  I  will  go  by  myself 
and  take  my  chance." 

"  My  dear  child,"  protested  the  priest. 

"  I  will.    I  will.    My  mind  is  made  up." 

"  You  had  better  tell  her,"  I  said  to  the  priest 
then. 

She  smiled,  but  through  the  promise  of  tears. 
"You  know  me,  don't  you?" 


VOLNA  IS  REFRACTORY         143 

Father  Ambrose  then  told  her  the  scheme  in  re- 
gard to  my  arrest  and  we  both  enlarged  upon  the 
absence  of  risk  to  me.  She  neither  acquiesced  nor 
vetoed  it.  "  That's  number  one.  What  is  number 
two?  What  have  you  told  Mr.  Anstruther?  " 

;<  You  want  to  rule  with  a  pretty  strong  iron  rod, 
don't  you?"  I  said.  "  But  there  is  nothing  to  tell 
that  need  be  told." 

"  Tell  me,"  she  cried  to  Father  Ambrose.  "  I 
will  know,  or " 

"  I  only  told  him  such  facts  about  you  as  you  had 
told  me,"  complied  the  priest,  taking  refuge  in 
generalities. 

She  stood  thinking,  shooting  quick  inquiring 
glances  at  us  in  turn. 

"  I  ask  you  not  to  insist  on  anything  more  than 
that,"  I  urged. 

A  gleam  of  understanding  was  in  her  eyes  and  a 
semi-mischievous  smile  hovering  about  her  lips  as 
she  returned :  "  Who  asked  that?  " 

"  Bob  Garrett,"  I  declared  promptly. 

The  smile  deepened.  "  What  will  the  police  do 
with  him?"  she  asked  Father  Ambrose.  "Take 
him  to  Cracow  ?  " 

"More  probably  to  Warsaw,"  was  the  reply; 
"  but  as  we  told  you,  his  friends  will  see  he  comes 
to  no  harm  of  any  sort.  You  are  quite  sure  of  that, 
are  you  not,  Mr.  Anstruther?  " 

"  I  haven't  the  faintest  doubt  of  it ; "  and  at  this 
Volna  looked  quite  her  happy  self. 

"  I  may  as  well  put  these  on  again,  then,"  she 


i44     IN  THE  CAUSE  OF  FREEDOM 

said,  and  she  slipped  on  the  apron  and  arranged  the 
quaint  head-dress.  When  she  looked  next  at  me 
her  face  was  almost  preternaturally  grave,  except 
her  expressionful  eyes. 

"  You  see  now  what  a  lot  of  time  would  have 
been  saved  if  you  had  been  frank  like  Bob,  and  not 
tried  to  deceive  me  like  Mr.  Anstruther.  I  can  say 
good-bye,  just  as  formally  as  you  please,  now  I 
know  why  you  are  going." 

I  took  her  hand  and  pressed  it.  "  You'll  stay 
here  and  let  this  thing  go  through  all  right  ?  " 

"  Yes.  Father  Ambrose  wishes  it.  Good-bye, 
Mr.  Anstruther,  and  good-bye — Bob." 

"  Good-bye — Peggy.  I  may  say  that  for  the  last 
time." 

"  Yes,  for  the  last  time,  of  course.  I  am  Volna, 
after  to-day."  She  looked  into  my  eyes  with  an 
odd  inscrutable  expression  in  hers  and  smiled. 
"  You'll  be  all  right,  or  else  I  shouldn't  agree.  But 
I  know  you,  and  I  am  sure." 

Then  I  hurried  out  of  the  room  followed  by  the 
priest. 


CHAPTER  xrv; 

THE  ARREST 

A  S  it  was  desirable  for  the  success  of  our  plan 
**  that  I  should  not  be  seen  when  I  fetched  my 
horse,  the  priest  pointed  out  a  way  across  the  fields ; 
and  then  gave  me  one  of  the  greatest  surprises  of 
that  time. 

"  Considering  what  you  are  doing  I  must  trust 
you  with  a  dangerous  secret.  You  will  give  me 
your  honour  never  to  reveal  it?" 

I  gave  him  the  pledge  readily. 

"  The  owner  of  the  shed  where  you  left  the  horses 
is  named  Jacob  Posen;  and  he  may  have  found 
them,  and  raise  difficulties.  In  that  case  you  will 
say  to  him ;  '  I  am  a  peasant  farmer,  friend.'  He 
will  probably  reply;  'You  seem  in  a  hurry?'  and 
you  will  answer :  '  Immediate.'  His  next  question 
if  he  asks  it,  will  be :  '  Your  name? '  In  reply  you 
will  raise  your  left  hand  with  the  forefinger  ex- 
tended, the  tip  to  be  level  with  your  eyes,  and  the 
back  of  the  hand  toward  him,  and  say : '  In  the  eye  of 
God.'  He  will  then  offer  to  shake  hands  with  you ; 
but  you  will  refuse  and  look  steadily  at  him.  He 
will  then  be  ready  to  help  you."  He  illustrated  the 
peculiar  gesture. 

The  inner  significance  of  this  was  not  difficult  to 
see.  "  Peasant  farmer,  friend,"  clearly  stood  for 

145 


146     IN  THE  CAUSE  OF  FREEDOM 

"  P.  F.  F."— the  Polish  Freedom  Fraternity.  The 
word  "  Immediate "  was  for  one  with  a  similar 
initial — probably  Independence;  while  the  gesture 
was  for  recognition  purposes  with  a  subtle  reference 
to  the  righteousness  of  the  cause  and  the  far-reach- 
ing extent  of  the  movement. 

I  was  profoundly  impressed  by  the  incident. 
Here  I  was  in  a  little  village  of  nowhere,  far  re- 
moved from  the  busy  cities  where  revolution  has  its 
birth  and  conspiracy  is  cradled ;  and  yet  the  ramifi- 
cations were  so  widespread,  the  arrangements  so 
perfected,  and  the  secret  means  so  ready  to  hand, 
that  Father  Ambrose — as  mild  a  mannered  man  as 
ever  wore  a  priest's  stole — was  able  in  a  few  min- 
utes to  find  one  agent  to  carry  the  dangerous  papers 
to  Cracow,  and  then  another  to  help  me  in  my; 
scheme. 

Until  then  I  had  never  regarded  the  Fraternity 
as  a  serious  national  force;  my  opinion  being  influ- 
enced by  the  fact  that  my  friend,  Count  Ladislas, 
was  one  of  the  leaders. 

I  knew  him  for  a  man  whose  habit  of  mind  led 
him  to  shirk  responsibility,  to  act  on  impulse,  to  be 
swayed  by  the  last  word,  and  to  veer  this  way  and 
that  when  a  decision  had  to  be  made.  It  was 
impossible  to  think  of  him  as  leading  a  movement 
which  called  for  practical,  earnest  and  sustained 
effort,  for  the  resolute  overcoming  of  innumerable 
difficulties,  the  persistent,  steady,  battling  against 
odds,  and  the  uninterrupted,  unceasing  educative 
work  needed  here. 


THE    ARREST  147 

He  was  a  man  of  dreams,  ideas,  theories,  and 
principles;  and  here  were  the  results  of  steady 
action,  hard  work,  stern  realities  and  tireless 
practice. 

I  seemed  to  realize  for  the  first  time  how  real  was 
the  danger  from  which  Volna  had  to  be  saved  and 
how  grave  the  risk  to  which  her  friends  in  Warsaw 
had  so  thoughtlessly  exposed  her. 

Even  if  our  little  scheme  now  were  successful  and 
I  managed  to  lead  the  police  off  her  track,  there  was 
serious  reason  to  fear  that  fresh  danger  might  await 
her  in  Warsaw;  and  at  that  moment  a  thought 
occurred  to  me  and,  despite  the  seriousness  of 
things,  I  laughed  aloud. 

In  our  last  interview  she  had  shewn  a  dozen 
moods  in  as  many  sentences,  to  my  infinite  bewil- 
derment; but  I  thought  now  of  something  which 
had  escaped  me  at  the  moment.  Her  cheerfulness 
had  returned  when  she  knew  I  was  likely  to  be  taken 
to  Warsaw. 

Will  any  one  blame  me  if  in  my  egoism  I  inter- 
preted this  as  a  sign  that  she  hoped  we  should  meet 
again  there?  We  had  parted  for  always  and  said 
a  last  good-bye;  but  she  had  taken  the  parting 
lightly,  because  the  "  always  "  would  last  only  until 
we  were  both  in  Warsaw.  That  was  why  I  laughed. 

The  laughter  had  a  short  life,  however.  It  died 
suddenly  as  I  remembered  how  Father  Ambrose  had 
spoken  of  Volna's  betrothal.  There  was  something 
more  than  I  knew  of  in  that;  Volna  herself  had 
spoken  of  an  entanglement;  and  I  was  worrying 


148     IN  THE  CAUSE  OF  FREEDOM 

over  the  puzzle  when  I  reached  the  top  of  a  sloping 
meadow  and  saw  below  me  the  shed  I  was  seeking. 

There  was  no  one  about  as  I  hurried  down  the 
hill.  I  was  glad,  as  I  had  no  mind  for  indulgence 
in  cabalistic  signs,  and  all  the  rest  of  it. 

But  I  had  been  seen ;  and  as  I  was  unfastening  the 
door  a  man  came  round  the  end  of  the  shed. 

"  Well  ?  "  A  very  blunt  but  significant  mono- 
syllable. 

"  Are  you  Jacob  Posen  ?  "  He  nodded.  He  was 
a  big,  heavy,  black-bearded,  powerful  man. 

"  I  have  come  for  my  horse." 

"  What  do  you  mean  ?  This  is  my  barn.  I  have 
no  horse  of  yours." 

"  I  am  a  peasant  farmer,  friend." 

He  laughed,  giving  no  sign  that  he  understood; 
but  he  was  only  acting,  for  he  said  with  a  sneer: 
"  You  seem  in  a  hurry  ?  " 

"  Immediate." 

His  laugh  changed  to  a  scowl  and  he  growled  in 
a  tone  of  almost  savage  anger,  "  Your  name  ?  " 
I  was  almost  surprised  an  oath  did  not  follow. 

I  made  the  sign  and  answered,  "  In  the  eye  of 
God." 

His  face  changed  suddenly  and  affecting  an  air  of 
good  fellowship  he  thrust  out  his  hand.  I  refused 
it  and  just  looked  him  in  the  face. 

His  taciturn  expression  returned  and  he  opened 
the  door  of  the  barn. 

"  I  saw  you  put  them  both  in  and  wondered,"  he 
said.  "  Shall  I  fetch  the  saddle  or  will  you  ?  " 


THE    ARREST  i49 

"  Better  you ;  I  don't  wish  to  be  seen." 

"Both?" 

"  No,  mine  only.    Hide  the  other  and  the  horse." 

He  went  off  at  once  leaving  me  marvelling  more 
than  ever.  He  was  soon  back  and  himself  slipped 
on  the  saddle  and  bridle.  Nothing  more  was  said 
until  I  was  ready  to  mount. 

"  You  bought  him  in  Bratinsk  and  this  in  Pulta. 
What  shall  I  do  with  it?" 

^ 

"  It  mustn't  be  found  twenty  miles  west  of  here ; 
and  this  revolver  must  be  hidden,"  I  added,  as  I 
gave  him  the  weapon  I  had  taken  at  Schirmskad. 

"  I  understand.    God  keep  us  all." 

"  God  keep  us  all,"  I  repeated,  assuming  that  to 
be  another  secret  sign.  As  I  rode  off,  I  saw  him 
return  to  the  coppice  where  the  other  saddle  was 
and  carry  it  back  to  the  barn. 

I  rode  leisurely  in  the  direction  of  the  village,  on 
the  lookout  for  some  sign  of  the  police  and  running 
over  in  my  mind  the  story  I  should  tell. 

Such  of  the  villagers  as  were  about  gaped  at  me 
and  two  or  three  children  followed.  As  I  was  play- 
ing a  part  and  did  not  know  whose  eyes  might  be 
upon  me,  I  thought  it  best  to  play  thoroughly. 

"Which  is  the  priest's  house?"  I  asked  one  of 
the  women;  and  she  pointed  it  out.  I  beckoned 
to  the  children  and  throwing  them  some  kopecks 
bade  them  tell  the  Father  I  wished  to  speak  to  him. 

He  came  out  and  I  raised  my  hat  and  said  in  a 
voice  loud  enough  for  others  to  hear :  "  I  am  the 
Englishman  who  passed  through  the  village  yester- 


150    IN  THE  CAUSE  OF  FREEDOM 

'day  and  spoke  with  you,  Father.  I  have  had  all  my 
money  taken  from  me  and  have  thought  it  best  to 
come  to  you." 

"  Come  into  the  house,"  he  said  gravely.  As  I 
dismounted  and  fastened  my  horse  to  the  railing, 
he  drew  a  woman  aside  and  whispered  to  her;  then 
led  the  way  to  the  door.  "  I  have  sent  for  the  police 
agents,"  he  told  me.  "  They  have  been  some  half 
hour  in  the  village." 

"  I  am  quite  ready ; "  and  as  we  sat  waiting  I 
told  him  hurriedly  what  had  passed  with  Jacob 
Posen,  and  that  I  thought  Volna's  horse  should  be 
hidden. 

"  Do  you  really  need  any  money?  "  he  asked, 

"  No,  I  think  not.  I  shall  get  back  my  letter  of 
credit." 

Soon  we  heard  footsteps  outside. 

"  They  are  here.  I  almost  regret  this,"  he  said 
hurriedly. 

"  I  think  it  splendid.  Now  for  the  play."  Then 
I  raised  my  voice,  and  spoke  excitedly.  "  The  men 
took  my  letter  of  credit,  and  if  you  do  not  help  me 
what  am  I  to  do?  Some  one  shall  pay  for  this." 
I  got  up  and  held  the  door  partly  open.  "  If  you 
can't  do  it,  you  can't  of  course;  but  I  daren't  stay 
here." 

"  You  cannot  go,"  said  the  Father.  "  I  have  sent 
for  the  police." 

"  Not  go,  I'll  see  about  that,"  I  cried  angrily, 
and  rushed  out  to  be  instantly  seized  by  my;  friend 
of  the  Devil's  Staircase  and  a  companion. 


THE    ARREST  151 

"  No,  no.  We'll  see  about  your  going,"  sneered 
the  fellow.  "  You're  right,  Father  Ambrose,  this 
is  the  man  we  seek.  Thank  you  for  keeping  him 
here  and  sending  for  us." 

"  Ah,  so  it's  you  again,  eh  ?  "  I  said. 

!<  Yes ;  and  you  won't  get  away  this  time." 

I  turned  on  the  priest  viciously.  "  And  this  is 
your  idea  of  Christianity,  eh?  To  get  me  inside 
your  house  in  order  to  betray  me  to  the  hounds.  I 
wish  you  joy  of  your  creed." 

"  Don't  insult  the  Father.  He  has  only  done  his 
duty."  The  irony  of  the  praise  for  the  falsehood 
we  had  acted  together,  struck  the  good  man  and  I 
saw  him  wince. 

"  I  have  done  what  I  have  done,"  he  murmured. 

"  See  if  he's  armed,"  ordered  the  agent.  "  He 
stole  my  revolver." 

"  Your  comrades  took  it  from  me  in  their  turn. 
You'll  find  it  at  Schirmskad.  I'm  not  armed.  I 
don't  need  any  weapons  any  longer." 

He  looked  up  with  a  scowl,  and  a  start.  "  Schirm- 
skad?" 

I  laughed  significantly.  "On  my  way  to  the 
frontier.  You're  too  late,  my  friend;  and  within 
the  next  few  hours  I  am  going  to  show  you  what 
a  fool  you've  made  of  yourself." 

"  Where's  the  woman  ?  " 

"  Wire  to  Schirmskad  and  ask  who  escape'd  when 
the  cottage  of  wood-cutter  Krempel  was  burned 
down  last  night.  You  know  how  near  that  is  to  the 
frontier."  I  did  not,  but  I  bluffed  him. 


152     IN  THE  CAUSE  OF  FREEDOM 

"  Did  he  ride  up  alone  ? "  he  asked  Father 
Ambrose. 

"  Yes,  at  the  moment  I  sent  for  you." 

"  You'll  answer  for  this/'  he  cried  angrily. 

"  That's  exactly  what  I've  ridden  back  for. 
Your  fellows  at  that  cottage  took  my  money  and 
papers;  so,  as  soon  as  I  had  done  what  I  set  out 
to  do,  I  rode  back.  On  my  way  I  came  to  this  priest 
here ;  as  he  knows  I  am  an  Englishman ;  and  instead 
of  helping  me,  he  arranged  for  my  arrest.  You 
Russian  Poles  are  a  nice  friendly  Christian  people, 
the  whole  lot  of  you." 

"  Where  were  you  going?  " 

"  Why  to  Bratinsk,  of  course — where  the  rest  of 
my  things  are  and  I  am  well  enough  known  to 
borrow  money  until  I  can  get  some  from  England." 

"  A  likely  story,"  he  sneered. 

"  You  needn't  believe  it.  Your  sneers  don't 
affect  me  a  kopeck.  This  particular  episode  being 
closed  I  am  going  back  to  my  hunting  at  Bratinsk." 

"  You'll  find  the  episode,  as  you  call  it,  isn't 
closed.  You'll  have  to  answer  for  it  and  must  come 
with  me." 

"  I  haven't  the  least  objection  now." 

He  thanked  Father  Ambrose  again  and  we  left 
the  house.  They  walked  one  on  each  side  of  me, 
and  one  of  the  villagers  led  my  horse.  In  this  way 
I  was  marched  to  the  police  quarters  of  the  village — 
just  a  cottage,  pretty  much  like  that  of  an  ordinary 
county  policeman  at  home. 

There  he  wanted  to  catechize  me  afresh  about 


THE    ARREST  153 

Volna ;  but  I  stopped  him.  "  I  shall  say  nothing 
about  that  and  nothing  more  about  myself.  I  am 
ready  to  go  wherever  you  please  to  take  me,  and 
having  no  longer  any  reason  to  resist,  will  do  what 
you  wish.  You  know  who  I  am,  because  you  saw 
my  papers  at  Bratinsk  before  any  of  this  fuss 
occurred.  Take  me  to  your  superiors  and  I'll  con- 
vince them  in  half  an  hour  that  the  sooner  I  am  at 
liberty  again,  the  better  for  all  concerned." 

"  I  am  in  charge  of  this,"  he  cried,  bristling  with 
authority.  "  You  have  aided  the  escape  of  a  revo- 
lutionary and  must  answer  for  it." 

"  I  am  an  Englishman.  Take  me  to  your  supe- 
riors," I  said ;  and  to  that  phrase  I  stuck,  repeating 
it  doggedly  to  his  every  question,  until  I  had  tired 
out  his  patience  and  worn  his  temper  to  shreds. 

I  was  then  left  in  a  room  with  a  man  to  guard  me 
while  a  carriage  was  got  ready;  when  I  was  hand- 
cuffed and  bundled  into  it  pretty  roughly.  I 
knew  the  road  of  course  and  soon  saw  they  were 
taking  me  to  Solden. 

I  was  carried  to  the  police  quarters  there  and 
shut  up  in  a  cell;  still  with  a  man  to  guard  me. 
Meanwhile  they  communicated  with  the  police  at 
Schirmskad ;  and  after  some  time  I  was  taken  from 
the  cell  and  confronted  with  the  chief  of  the  men 
who  had  nearly  captured  me  at  the  woodcutter's 
cottage. 

"  I  am  glad  to  see  you,"  I  told  him.  "  You  have 
my  passport,  papers,  and  letter  of  credit.  I  demand 
their  return." 


I54    IN  THE  CAUSE  OF  FREEDOM 

"  Where  is  your  companion  and  who  is  she  ?  " 

"Who  is  the  chief  here?"  I  asked. 

"Answer  me,  you  dog,"  he  cried  with  an  oath, 
raising  his  hand. 

"  I  am  an  Englishman  with  very  powerful 
friends ;  no  mere  peasant  to  be  kicked  and  hounded 
by  you.  Lay  a  finger  on  me,  if  you  dare."  The 
two  conferred  together;  my  papers  were  taken  out 
and  examined;  and  a  third  man  called  to  the  con- 
ference. 

"  Where  is  your  companion  and  who  is  she  ?  " 
demanded  the  man  again. 

"  Take  me  to  your  superiors,"  I  said ;  and  from 
that  reply  I  would  not  be  moved.  At  last  I  was 
sent  back  to  the  cell  with  the  guard  to  watch  me  as 
before. 

I  was  getting  on  better  than  I  had  even  hoped. 
My  insistent  repetition  of  the  fact  that  I  was  an 
Englishman  had  had  its  effect. 

The  Warsaw  agent  who  had  seen  me  first  at 
Bratinsk  had  no  doubt  satisfied  himself  on  the  point ; 
and  from  what  I  had  seen  in  the  recent  conference, 
he  had  made  this  clear  to  the  others. 

My  chief  anxiety  was  about  food.  It  was  now 
late  in  the  afternoon  and  having  had  nothing  since 
the  breakfast  at  the  priest's  house  I  was  egregiously 
hungry.  I  recalled  my  experience  at  Pulta  station 
and  began  to  speculate  what  effect  a  gold  coin  would 
have  upon  my  guard.  He  was  a  heavy  stupid-look- 
ing fellow ;  but  the  biggest  fool  in  Russia  knows  the 
difference  between  a  gold  piece  and  a  kopeck. 


THE    ARREST  I55 

The  coins  in  my  pocket  had  not  been  taken  from 
me  and  although  I  was  still  handcuffed  I  was  able 
to  wriggle  my  hand  into  my  pocket  and  get  some 
out.  The  man  watched  me  sullenly. 

"  I  am  hungry,"  I  said. 

"  Prisoners  mustn't  talk." 

"  I  have  had  no  food  for  hours.  Wouldn't  this 
buy  some  ?  "  and  I  held  up  a  couple  of  roubles. 

"  Silence,"  he  growled,  with  a  surly  frown. 

I  substituted  a  gold  piece  for  the  two  silver  ones. 
"  Food  is  perhaps  dear  in  Solden." 

He  fidgetted  uneasily,  his  eyes  on  the  gold.  I 
put  the  three  coins  together.  "  The  silver  for  the 
food,  and  gold  for  the  waiter,"  I  said. 

He  sighed  regretfully.  "Impossible,"  he  mur- 
mured. 

"  Mayn't  you  buy  food  for  yourself?  Have  you 
had  supper?  " 

His  eyes  gleamed.  A  slow  smile  of  cunning 
spread  over  his  face.  He  stretched  out  his  hand. 
I  put  the  two  silver  coins  into  it.  "  One  pays  the 
waiter  at  the  end  of  dinner." 

He  was  disappointed,  and  stood  glancing  from 
the  coins  in  the  palm  of  his  hand  to  me  and  back 
from  me  to  the  coins.  Then  he  decided  to  earn  the 
gold. 

He  knocked  on  the  door  of  the  cell  and  a  comrade 
came.  They  whispered  together;  the  coins  jingled; 
and  the  comrade  departed. 

In  half  an  hour  he  returned  with  some  food:  a 
cold  chicken,  some  bread  and  tea.  The  cost  was 


1 56    IN  THE  CAUSE  OF  FREEDOM 

probably  under  a  rouble  and  the  comrade  had  thus 
paid  himself  in  advance. 

There  was  no  knife;  so  I  had  to  eat  the  fowl  as 
best  I  could;  pulling  the  joints  asunder  and  gnaw- 
ing the  flesh.  But  I  was  too  hungry  to  bother  about 
that.  When  I  had  finished  I  gave  the  man  the  gold 
piece. 

"  I  must  give  him  something,"  he  grumbled. 

"  Give  him  what  you  like  out  of  that,"  I  an- 
swered, getting  a  very  black  look  from  him. 

After  the  food,  sleep  became  insistent.  I  had  not 
slept  since  Pulta,  and  had  done  a  good  deal  in  the 
meantime.  I  was  as  tired  as  a  hound  after  a  long 
day,  and  had  scarcely  settled  myself  on  the  bench 
against  the  corner  of  the  wall  before  I  was  off. 

Not  for  long,  however.  I  dreamed  that  some 
huge  monster  animal  was  suffocating  me  and  woke 
to  find  it  was  my  guard's  heavy  coat  sleeve  pressing 
against  my  face  as  he  leaned  across  to  get  at  the 
pocket  where  my  money  was. 

"  Helping  yourself,  are  you?  " 

He  got  up  hurriedly  and  a  couple  of  coins  fell 
from  his  hand  to  the  floor. 

"  I  only  wanted  to  see  you  were  comfortable,"  he 
mumbled. 

"  You  thought  the  money  might  make  too  a  big 
a  lump  for  comfort,  eh  ?  Very  nice  of  you.  Your 
officer  counted  it,  so  you  can  tell  him  how  much 
you've  taken.  It'll  be  all  right." 

He  swore — perhaps  at  the  feebleness  of  the  sar- 


THE    ARREST  157 

casm;  but  he  thrust  the  money  back  and  sat  down 
in  his  chair  again  glowering  at  me. 

I  settled  myself  in  my  corner  once  more  and  slept 
this  time  until  somebody  shook  me  violently. 

It  was  my  friend  of  the  Devil's  Staircase ;  and  he 
bade  me  get  up  at  once  and  go  with  him. 

I  yawned.    "Where  to?" 

"  To  my  superiors,"  he  answered  with  a  grin ; 
thinking  it  a  joke  no  doubt  to  throw  my  own  words 
back  at  me. 


CHAPTER  XV 

A  TASTE  OF  PRISON  LIFE 

OUTSIDE  in  the  corridor  the  man  from  Schirm- 
skad  was  waiting,  and  the  two  drove  me  to 
the  railway  station  and  hustled  me  into  a  railway 
carriage.  They  would  not  say  where  I  was  being 
taken,  but  I  did  not  care  much,  and  five  minutes 
after  I  entered  the  train,  I  was  fast  asleep. 

When  I  awoke  it  was  daylight.  A  bleak,  desolate, 
grey  morning,  for  the  snow  had  come  at  last,  and 
was  falling  heavily.  I  was  cold  and  stiff  from  the 
cramped  position,  and  sore  from  the  jolting  of  the 
train — one  never  understands  how  a  train  can  jolt 
until  after  an  experience  in  what  they  call  a  fast 
train  in  Russian  Poland — and  as  I  sat  up,  yawned, 
and  rubbed  my  eyes,  every  bone  in  my  body  seemed 
to  ache. 

My  guards  were  both  asleep.  Had  I  been  minded 
I  could  have  taken  their  weapons  and  shot 
them  both  as  they  rolled  in  their  corners,  snoring 
loudly  enough  to  have  drowned  the  sound  of  the 
shots. 

I  roused  them  both,  and  with  a  great  shew  of 
politeness  told  them  what  I  could  have  done.  They 
both  swore  at  me. 

"  It's  really  very  wrong  of  you  to  go  to  sleep  in 
158 


A  TASTE  OF  PRISON  LIFE      159 

such  a  case,"  I  said  amiably.  "  You  had  no  right 
to  subject  a  prisoner  to  such  a  temptation.  I  fear 
I  shall  be  compelled  to  report  you." 

"  You're  a  cool  hand,"  growled  the  Schirmskad 
man. 

"  Not  nearly  so  cold  as  you  would  soon  have  been 
if  I  had  done  it,"  I  retorted,  and  the  grimness  of  the 
joke  seemed  to  appeal  to  them.  "  But  Englishmen 
don't  do  that  kind  of  thing." 

"  To  hell  with  the  English,"  he  said. 

"  That's  not  pretty,  but  it's  nothing  to  what  you'll 
feel  like  saying  before  you  are  through  with  me. 
One  of  you  took  me  for  a  spy,  or  a  conspirator,  and 
the  other  for  a  thief  or  a  murderer.  It  was 
brilliant." 

"  Who  are  you,  then  ?  "  growled  the  Warsaw 
man.  They  were  both  sleepy  and  ill-tempered,  and 
thus  very  easy  to  bait. 

"  If  I  had  been  either  spy  or  murderer,  I  suppose 
even  you  can  see  that  I  should  have  shot  you  just 
now  instead  of  going  on  contentedly  to  explain 
things."  The  train  ran  through  a  station  then.,  and 
I  caught  sight  of  the  name  Tischnov.  I  knew  the 
place  to  be  some  twenty  miles  from  Warsaw.  I 
began  to  chuckle,  and  presently  burst  into  a  loud 
laugh. 

"What  is  it  now?" 

"  I  am  thinking  of  your  promotion,"  I  grinned. 
"  They  tell  me  that  the  man  who  makes  the  biggest 
mistakes  gets  promoted  instantly  for  fear  the 
blunder  should  be  known  and  police  prestige  suffer. 


i6o    IN  THE  CAUSE  OF  FREEDOM 

I  expect  you'll  be  heads  of  departments  by  to-mor- 
row, you  two,  with  decorations." 

"  We've  had  enough  of  your  insolence." 

"  You  asked  me  why  I  smiled.  Why,  when  your 
Minister  of  the  Interior  hears  from  my  dear  old 
friend,  General  von  Eckerstein — he  used  to  repre- 
sent Germany  at  Petersburg,  you  know — how  you've 
treated  me,  you'll  get  such  a  sweet  message  from 
him." 

The  Schirmskad  man  swore,  but  his  companion 
looked  serious.  I  continued  to  chaff  them  with  much 
enjoyment  for  ten  miles;  and  the  Warsaw  agent 
grew  more  and  more  uneasy  at  every  word  I 
dropped  relative  to  my  having  well-known  friends. 

"  What  do  you  know  about  General  von  Ecker- 
stein ?  "  he  asked  at  length. 

"  That  he  doesn't  like  his  friends  to  wear  this 
kind  of  ornament ; "  and  I  held  up  my  handcuffs. 

"  If  you'll  give  me  your  word  not  to  escape,  I'll 
take  them  off,"  he  replied,  very  sheepishly. 

"  Not  for  the  world,  now.  I  shall  be  able  to  tell 
the  General  how  it  feels  to  be  dragged  through  the 
streets  of  Warsaw  manacled  like  a  felon." 

The  two  whispered  together  for  some  minutes, 
and  then  the  Warsaw  man  said :  "  We're  not  afraid 
of  your  escaping.  I'll  take  them  off." 

I  let  him  do  it,  of  course.  "  A  bit  uncomfortable 
about  it  all,  eh?  It's  beginning  to  dawn  on  you  at 
last  that  I'm  not  a  dangerous  revolutionary?"  I 
said,  as  I  rubbed  my  chafed  wrists.  "  You're  only 
at  the  beginning  of  your  lesson,  though." 


A  TASTE  OF  PRISON  LIFE      161 

"  I  have  done  no  more  than  my  duty,"  he  mut- 
tered. 

"  We  shall  see  about  that  before  the  day's  over, 
my  friend,"  I  answered  sharply. 

When  we  reached  Warsaw  I  was  driven  to  the 
police  headquarters.  I  was  expected,  and  after  a 
few  minutes  I  was  taken  to  a  room  where  some  half 
dozen  men  were  awaiting  me,  among  them  being 
the  two  who  had  brought  me  to  Warsaw.  The 
chief  was  sitting  at  a  heavily  bepapered  table. 

"  Stand  there,"  he  said,  pointing  to  a  spot  opposite 
to  him. 

Two  things  were  evident.  The  chief  was  a  man 
high  in  authority — the  deferential  manner  of  the 
rest  shewed  this — and  the  proceedings  were  stage- 
managed  with  a  view  to  impress  me  with  the  so- 
lemnity and  seriousness  of  the  occasion.  I  took  my 
cue  accordingly,  and  was  as  nonchalant  as  I  could 
be.  "Why  stand?"  I  asked. 

"You  are  a  prisoner,"  he  rapped  out,  with  a 
frown. 

"On  what  charge?" 

"Don't  question  me.     Your  name?" 

I  looked  at  him  steadily  and  kept  silent.  The 
frown  deepened  and  he  repeated  "  Your  name ;  do 
you  hear?  " 

"  Of  course  I  hear  you;  but  if  I  am  a  prisoner  I 
decline  to  answer  any  questions  until  I  know  the 
charge  against  me." 

"  Don't  trifle  with  me.  Refuse  to  answer  and 
you  go  to  the  cells." 


162    IN  THE  CAUSE  OF  FREEDOM 

"  That  as  you  please.  Your  agent  there  knows 
my  name  perfectly  well  and  that  I  am  a  British 
subject.  I  claim  my  rights  as  one." 

The  reply  only  served  to  increase  his  anger.  The 
flesh  about  his  nose  and  mouth  began  to  grow  white 
as  it  will  with  some  men  in  passion.  He  was  a 
bully,  and  probably  hated  the  English  like  so  many 
of  his  countrymen. 

"  Answer  me,  you "  The  epithet  was  lost  in 

the  loud  cough  of  a  man  near  him. 

"  You  have  the  only  answer  I  shall  give  until  I 
know  the  charge." 

"  Take  him  away,"  he  ordered,  with  a  wave  of 
the  hand. 

"  I  demand  to  communicate  with  the  British 
Consul,"  I  said,  "  and  with  my  friend,  General  von 
Eckerstein." 

"  Take  him  away,"  he  repeated ;  and  I  was  led 
off  and  placed  in  a  cell.  If  he  thought  to  frighten 
me,  the  effort  had  failed.  He  had  put  himself  in 
the  wrong,  and  I  knew  that  my  turn  would 
come. 

It  was  a  filthy,  foul-smelling  place  they  put  me 
in,  and  they  kept  me  in  it  all  day  without  food  or 
even  water. 

In  the  evening  I  was  taken  again  before  the  man, 
and  the  scene  of  the  morning  was  repeated  in  pretty 
much  the  same  terms  and  with  the  same  result.  But 
my  back  was  up,  and  I  vowed  I'd  rather  starve  than 
give  in. 

I  passed  a  miserable  night,  famished  with  hunger, 


A  TASTE  OF  PRISON  LIFE       163 

parched  with  thirst,  and  half  stifled  with  the  reeking 
foulness  of  the  place. 

In  the  morning  an  official  came  to  the  cell  to  try 
a  different  method.  He  was  less  of  a  ruffian  than 
his  superior,  and  sought  to  convince  me  of  the  use- 
lessness  of  contumacity. 

I  let  him  talk  without  once  replying  to  his  ques- 
tions until  he  was  in  the  act  of  leaving.  "  I  am  a 
British  subject,"  I  said  then,  "  and  I  have  demanded 
no  more  than  my  rights.  I  have  been  treated  like 
a  dog  and  shut  up  in  this  filthy  place  to  be  starved 
into  submission  to  that  ruffianly  bully.  Go  through 
with  it  if  you  dare.  I  can  keep  my  end  up,  and  be 
hanged  to  you  all.  But  if  I'm  left  to  rot  here, 
there'll  be  questions  which  somebody  will  find  it  dif- 
ficult to  answer.  You  can't  murder  Englishmen 
with  impunity.  You  know  that." 

He  shrugged  his  shoulders,  hesitated  whether  to 
answer,  then  decided  not  to  and  went  away. 

A  couple  of  hours  later  I  was  taken  again  to  be 
examined,  and  the  man  who  had  visited  me  was 
with  the  bully. 

"Is  your  name  Robert  Anstruther?"  asked  the 
latter. 

"  You  knew  that  before  you  sentenced  me  to 
twenty-four  hours'  starvation." 

"  Are  you  prepared  how  to  explain  your  part  in 
this  business?  " 

"What  business?  What  do  you  charge  me 
with?" 

His  colleague  bent  and  whispered  to  him;  and  a 


1 64    IN  THE  CAUSE  OF  FREEDOM 

short  but  very  heated  altercation  followed,  which 
resulted  in  the  bully  ordering  the  other  man  out  of 
the  room. 

Then  he  turned  to  me.  "  You'll  have  to  answer 
me." 

"  We  shall  see  about  that,"  I  returned  with  a  grin. 

"  I  shall  gaol  you  till  you  do." 

"  Then  we  shall  both  be  a  good  deal  older  when 
we  meet  again,"  I  retorted. 

"  You  have  a  fancy  to  try  a  change  of  prisons  ?  " 

"  I  demand  to  see  the  British  Consul  and  to  be 
allowed  to  communicate  with  my  friends." 

"  Your  friends,  now.  .Who  are  they  ? "  he 
sneered. 

"  One  will  do  to  start  with.  His  Excellency 
General  von  Eckerstein  of  the  German  Legation  at 
Petersburg.  I  wish  him  to  know  that  you  have 
tried  to  starve  me  to  submit  to  your  infernal 
bullying." 

"  Insolent  English  beast,"  he  roared,  completely 
losing  his  head  in  his  fury.  "  Take  the  liar  away." 

"  I  shan't  always  be  a  prisoner,"  I  cried,  as  the 
man  seized  me.  "But  I  shall  remember  that  insult 
until  I've  made  you  swallow  your  words."  I  was 
nearly  as  furious  as  he;  but  I  had  no  time  to  say 
more,  for  the  men  took  their  cue  from  him  and 
hustled  me  violently  out  of  the  room. 

They  passed  on  word  that  I  might  be  ill  treated 
with  impunity;  and  I  had  a  very  rough  and  tumble 
time  indeed  while  being  carried  to  one  of  the  gaols. 

With  the  minor  police  and  gaol  officials  in  Rus- 


A  TASTE  OF  PRISON  LIFE       165 

sian  Poland,  the  ill-treatment  of  prisoners  is  a  care- 
fully studied  art;  and  they  amused  themselves  con- 
genially with  me.  Twenty  times  on  that  short 
journey  I  had  to  put  the  greatest  restraint  on  myself 
to  resist  the  temptation  to  do  what  they  strove  to 
goad  me  to  do — to  commit  some  act  of  violence 
which  would  have  given  them  the  excuse  they  sought 
to  half  batter  me  to  death. 

As  it  was  I  was  hustled,  struck  and  kicked ;  my 
clothes  were  nearly  torn  off  my  back,  and  every  foul 
epithet  which  Russian  and  Polish  malice  could  think 
of  was  spat  at  me  with  official  brutality  and  con- 
temptuousness. 

I  kept  my  head,  however.  I  was  tough  enough 
to  bear  a  good  deal  of  ill-treatment;  I  had  often 
taken  much  worse  punishment  in  the  boxing  ring, 
and  I  had  played  football  in  America ;  so  I  held  my 
temper  back  for  the  man  who  was  the  real  cause  of 
it  all. 

They  flung  me  at  length  into  a  cell  and  locked 
the  door  upon  me  with  a  last  gibe  that  the  English 
were  dirty  cowards,  and  I  the  meanest  skunk  of 
them  all. 

I  understood  that  day  how  men  are  made  mur- 
derers. I  brooded  over  my  wrongs  and  nursed  my 
rage  against  the  bully  who  was  responsible  for  this 
treatment,  until  if  we  had  stood  face  to  face  I  know 
I  should  have  found  delight  in  dragging  him  down 
and  choking  the  life  out  of  him.  A  fierce  desire  to 
fight  him  and  punish  him  took  possession  of  me; 
and  for  an  hour  or  two  hunger,  thirst,  injustice, 


1 66    IN  THE  CAUSE  OF  FREEDOM 

everything  was  forgotten  in  that  all  but  insane  crav- 
ing for  revenge. 

But  rage  cannot  last  for  ever  and  when  some 
rough  prison  food — gruel,  black  bread,  and  a  pan- 
nikin of  water — was  thrust  into  my  cell  an  hour  or 
two  later,  the  sight  of  it  re-roused  my  hunger  and 
blanketed  my  passion.  So  famished  was  I  by  that 
time  that  I  had  to  clamp  down  the  desperate  impulse 
to  cram  it  into  my  mouth  with  the  unbridled 
voracity  of  a  starving  beast. 

It  was  excellent  self-discipline  to  eat  it  slowly. 
But  I  succeeded.  I  took  it,  just  a  mouthful  at  a 
time,  with  long  intervals  between,  thus  spreading 
out  the  meal  over  perhaps  two  hours  or  more.  And 
at  the  end  of  the  time  I  was  myself  once  more,  had 
regained  my  self-restraint,  and  was  able  to  think. 

What  they  meant  to  do  with  me,  I  could  not  see ; 
but  what  I  would  do  was  clear  enough.  I  would 
conform  to  every  rule  of  the  prison  life  and  wait 
for  the  chance  of  communicating  with  my  friend  or 
with  the  British  Consul.  Let  that  bully  break  down 
my  resolve,  I  would  not,  if  I  had  to  stay  in  the 
prison  till  I  was  grey.  And  when  my  time  came, 
I  would  have  a  reckoning  with  him,  even  if  the 
immediate  result  was  only  to  bring  me  back  to  the 
prison  with  a  real  crime  for  the  reason. 

On  entering  the  gaol  I  had  been  searched,  and  my 
watch  and  money,  everything,  indeed,  taken  from 
me.  I  could  not,  therefore,  try  the  bribery  trick 
again,  even  if  the  chance  had  offered.  So  I  made 
the  best  of  a  very  bad  job,  arranged  my  torn  clothes 


A  TASTE  OF  PRISON  LIFE       167 

in  such  fashion  as  I  could,  rubbed  the  bruises  where 
the  brutes  had  kicked  or  struck  me,  and  got  all  the 
sleep  that  was  possible. 

The  attempt  to  starve  me  was  abandoned,  and 
later  in  the  day  another  meal,  black  bread  and  water 
this  time,  was  served.  I  was  left  to  myself  that 
day  and  the  whole  of  the  next,  except  when  the  food 
was  brought,  or  when  I  was  ordered  roughly  to 
clean  the  cell,  or  when  a  warder  in  the  corridor 
would  open  the  grill  in  the  door  and  after  grinning 
at  me  would  utter  some  vile  epithet.  They  were  a 
genial  pleasant  set  of  men. 

On  the  third  day,  however,  a  fresh  course  was 
attempted.  A  man  I  had  not  seen  before  entered 
my  cell,  and  after  very  little  preface  hinted  that  if 
I  would  pay  him,  he  would  carry  some  communica- 
tion to  my  friends.  Suspicious  that  it  was  a  trick, 
I  declined;  and  then  he  urged  me  to  make  a  full 
confession  of  all  I  knew  and  submit  to  the  authori- 
ties. 

"What  do  you  call  this  but  submitting?"  I  re- 
torted. "  I  don't  see  what  other  course  is  left  to 
me.  But  I  have  done  nothing,  and  have  no  con- 
fession to  make  therefore." 

"  By  submission  I  mean  answer  the  questions  of 
Colonel  Bremenhof." 

"  Is  that  the  man  who  interrogated  me?  " 

"  Yes.    Will  you  not  confess  to " 

"  I  have  no  confession  to  make,"  I  cut  in.  "  But 
I'm  glad  to  know  his  name.  I  shan't  forget  it." 

He  tried  to  work  on  my  fears,  then.    This  was 


1 68    IN  THE  CAUSE  OF  FREEDOM 

not  England,  the  times  were  troubled,  military  laws 
prevailed,  and  suspects  who  would  not  account  for 
themselves  might  be  treated  very  harshly. 

"  I  have  had  ample  proof  of  that  myself,  thank 
you,"  said  I,  drily ;  "  and  as  soon  as  I  am  free,  I 
shall  see  that  some  others  learn  to  spell  the  word." 

He  gave  me  up  then  and  left  with  a  curt  warning. 
"  You  will  not  be  free  until  you  have  submitted." 

It  began  to  look  as  though  it  was  to  be  trial  of 
staying  power;  and  I  had  all  that  day  and  half  the 
next  to  ponder  his  warning. 

Then  something  happened. 

I  had  had  my  midday  meal  and  was  trying  to 
sleep  when  I  heard  the  shuffling  of  steps  and  the 
murmur  of  voices  in  the  corridor. 

There  was  a  pause,  the  key  was  thrust  into  the 
lock,  the  door  thrown  open  and  two  warders  entered 
followed  by  the  bully  and,  of  all  people  in  the  world, 
the  least  expected — Volna, 


CHAPTER  XVI 

I  GET  A  BIT  OF  MY  OWN  BACK 

A  T  the  sight  of  the  man  who  had  used  his  official 
•**•  power  to  give  me  the  lie  and  then  have  me 
treated  like  a  felon  my  rage  flashed  at  once  into  a 
flame. 

But  for  that,  my  astonishment  at  seeing  Volna 
would  have  drawn  some  sign  of  recognition  before 
my  instinctive  caution  could  have  prevented  it.  As 
it  was,  however,  my  gaze  fastened  on  Colonel 
Bremenhof. 

"It's  you,  is  it?"  I  said,  and  I  jumped  up  and 
stepped  toward  him. 

He  retreated,  and  the  two  warders  interposed 
quickly  and  pushed  me  back.  But  the  incident  had 
served  a  purpose.  It  prevented  the  bully's  noticing 
Volna's  start  of  dismay  on  recognising  me. 

"  That's  right,"  I  sneered.  "  Keep  your  bulldogs 
about  you.  It's  not  safe  to  come  near  me  without 
some  one  to  take  care  of  you." 

His  anger  and  chagrin  were  intense.  I  knew 
afterwards  what  he  had  hoped  to  gain  by  bringing 
Volna  to  my  cell ;  and  the  failure  of  the  plan  galled 
him. 

"This  is  the  fellow,  Volna,  who  was  found  with 

your  uncle "  he  began,  when  I  broke  in. 

169 


1 70    IN  THE  CAUSE  OF  FREEDOM 

"  Have  you  communicated  with  my  friend 
General  von  Eckerstein  ?  " 

"  Silence,  prisoner,"  he  cried,  angrily.  "  Now, 
Volna,  I  want  you " 

"  Am  I  a  show  for  all  Warsaw  to  see  ?  I  have 
suffered  your  brutality " 

"  Silence,  I  say.  Disobedient  scoundrels  get  the 
lash  here." 

I  sneered  and  shrugged  my  shoulders.  "  You 
miserable  coward ;  a  mere  cur  in  office,  barking  only 
when  you  think  it  safe." 

This  had  the  infuriating  effect  I  wished.  He  lost 
control  of  himself,  and,  pushing  the  two  warders 
aside,  he  rushed  forward  with  hand  raised  to  strike 
me. 

I  let  him  come  quite  close,  and  then  hit  him  full 
on  his  insolent  mouth,  putting  all  my  weight  and 
strength  behind  the  blow.  He  went  down  like  a 
ninepin,  and  so  far  as  he  was  concerned,  the  inter- 
view was  over. 

A  pretty  considerable  row  followed.  The  two 
warders  threw  themselves  on  me  and  shouted  lustily 
for  help.  Others  rushed  to  the  cell  in  a  ferment  of 
excitement  and  clustered  between  me  and  the  bully, 
much  as  though  I  were  a  wild  beast.  He  was  car- 
ried off,  and  Volna,  in  a  maze  of  distress  and  con- 
sternation, was  taken  away  at  the  same  time. 

I  was  now  considered  to  be  a  desperate  and  dan- 
gerous prisoner.  Handcuffs  were  placed  on  my 
wrists  and  irons  on  my  legs,  neither  of  the  opera- 
tions being  gently  performed. 


I  GET  A  BIT  OF  MY  OWN  BACK  171 

But  I  did  not  care.  I  had  got  back  a  little  of  my 
own  from  the  brute,  and  they  might  do  what  they 
pleased  with  me  now.  What  that  would  be,  I  was 
soon  to  learn. 

I  was  huddled  up  on  my  pallet  in  the  exceedingly 
uncomfortable  position  which  the  irons  permitted 
when  the  governor  of  the  gaol  and  a  couple  of  other 
officials  entered  with  some  warders. 

He  read  me  a  short  lecture  upon  the  heinousness 
of  my  awful  offence,  told  me  that  men  had  been 
killed  who  had  done  less,  and  then  announced  that 
my  punishment  would  be  the  knout.  Three  hundred 
lashes  to  be  administered  at  intervals  of  a  week,  a 
hundred  lashes  each  time. 

"  I  am  an  Englishman,  and  claim  the  right  to 
communicate  with  the  British  Consul,  and  also  my 
friend,  General  von  Eckerstein." 

"  You  don't  dare  to  deny  that  you  struck  Colonel 
Bremenhof?" 

"  My  quarrel  is  personal  with  him.  He  sent  me 
here  in  the  first  instance  without  any  cause  and 
was  going  to  strike  me  just  now  when  I  hit 
him." 

"Enough,"  was  the  stern  reply.  "You  have 
admitted  your  infamous  act.  The  first  portion  of 
your  punishment  will  be  administered  to-morrow ; " 
and  with  that  he  turned  on  his  heel  and  left  me  to 
my  own  reflections. 

They  were  gloomy  enough.  I  had  once  seen  a 
man  knouted,  and  had  winced  as  the  lash  tore  the 
flesh  from  the  poor  devil's  back.  I  would  rather 


172    IN  THE  CAUSE  OF  FREEDOM 

have  been  sentenced  to  be  shot  at  once;  and  for  a 
few  mad  moments  I  indulged  in  wild  thoughts  of 
self-destruction  or  of  attempting  a  fierce  attack  on 
some  one  in  the  prison  which  would  bring  a  capital 
sentence. 

Sanity  returned  presently,  however,  and  after  a 
time  the  extraordinary  circumstances  of  Volna's 
visit  began  to  claim  my  thoughts. 

What  baffled  me  as  much  as  anything  was  that 
Colonel  Bremenhof  had  addressed  her  by  her 
Christian  name.  What  could  he  be  to  her,  or  she 
to  him?  He  had  evidently  brought  her  to  the 
prison  to  identify  me ;  but  what  could  be  his  motive  ? 
Could  she  have  fallen  under  suspicion?  What  did 
he  know,  and  how  had  he  guessed  that  she  and  I 
had  been  together?  Had  she  been  confronted  with 
the  police  agent  of  the  Devil's  Staircase  incident? 
Was  she  to  be  charged  ?  That  did  not  seem  possible 
in  view  of  the  fact  that  she  was  apparently  free  and 
he  had  spoken  to  her  as  to  a  friend. 

I  raked  my  wits  over  and  over  again  in  repeated 
attempts  to  answer  these  questions,  only  to  give  up 
the  puzzle  as  hopeless. 

No  one  came  near  me  again  all  that  afternoon 
and  evening,  and  as  the  hours  passed,  the  thought 
of  what  was  in  store  for  me  on  the  morrow  became 
more  and  more  oppressive.  And  when,  at  length,  I 
heard  the  warders  going  their  night  rounds,  I  am 
free  to  confess  I  was  very  close  to  despair. 

I  dreaded  the  lash  as  fully  as  any  poor  devil  who 
was  ever  sentenced  to  it  deservedly;  and  I  found 


I  GET  A  BIT  OF  MY  OWN  BACK  173 

myself  speculating,  with  a  coward's  fear,  upon  the 
gruesome  ordeal. 

I  could  not  sleep  for  the  shuddering  horror  of  the 
thing.  In  vain  I  told  myself  that  men  had  gone 
through  it  before,  and  that  what  they  had  endured, 
I  could  probably  endure.  There  was  no  consolation 
in  that.  The  one  thought  that  did  afford  me  a 
gleam  of  grim  comfort  was  that  if  I  did  get  through 
it  and  was  ever  free,  Colonel  Bremenhof  should 
taste  something  of  the  horrors  he  had  caused  me 
to  endure  before  I  would  call  my  account  with  him 
square. 

There  was  a  great  deal  of  the  brute  in  me  in  those 
lingering  hours  of  despair. 

I  was  still  in  this  mood  of  self-torturing  appre- 
hension, trying  vainly  to  get  to  sleep  and  shake  off 
the  horrors  of  it  when  my  cell  door  was  opened  and 
two  warders  entered.  By  the  lantern  which  one 
carried  I  saw  two  other  figures  in  the  gloom  beyond, 
and  I  jumped  to  the  conclusion  that  the  time  for 
my  knouting  had  been  put  forward. 

"  This  is  the  prisoner."  I  recognized  the  gover- 
nor's voice. 

The  warder's  lantern  flashed  to  my  face,  and  out 
of  the  gloom  came  a  sonorous  "  Good  God !  "  Then 
some  one  rushed  forward  and  took  my  hands.  "  My 
dear  boy,  what  in  the  name  of  heaven  and  earth 
does  all  this  mean  ?  " 

It  was  my  old  friend,  General  von  Eckerstein; 
and  as  I  felt  the  grasp  of  his  hands  I  closed  my  eyes 
with  a  deep,  deep  sigh  of  intense  thankfulness. 


174    IN  THE  CAUSE  OF  FREEDOM 

"  There  has  been  a  bad  mistake,  that's  all,"  I 
said,  scarcely  knowing  what  I  said  or  did  for  the 
moment.  The  sense  of  relief  was  so  intense  as  to 
be  almost  overpowering.  I  found  myself  laughing 
fatuously. 

"  This  is  your  friend,  General  ? "  asked  the 
governor. 

"  Why,  of  course  it  is.  It's  the  most  extra- 
ordinary thing  in  the  world.  Why  on  earth  didn't 
you  send  for  me  before  ?  " 

"  I  tried  to,  but — I  had  better  explain  everything." 

"  He  has  proved  himself  a  very  dangerous  and 
desperate  man,  General,"  said  the  governor.  "  Will 
you  answer  for  him  ?  " 

"  Answer  for  him  ?  Yes ;  with  my  life,  man. 
Can  you  let  me  see  him  privately?  I'm  lost  in 
amazement." 

"  Take  off  his  irons,"  ordered  the  governor. 

"  Fettered,  too.  Heavens !  what  would  your 
father  have  said  ?  " 

The  irons  were  taken  off  and  I  was  allowed  to  go 
with  the  General  to  one  of  the  governor's  rooms 
where  we  were  left  alone.  This  gave  me  time  to 
regain  my  self-control. 

"  Now  perhaps  you'll  tell  me  all  about  it,"  said 
my  friend. 

"  Two  things  first  Give  me  a  cigar,  and  tell 
me  how  you  have  come  from  Petersburg  just  in  the 
nick  of  time." 

"  From  Petersburg?  I  have  not  come  from 
Petersburg ;  I  am  in  Warsaw  for  a  time.  But  what 


I  GET  A  BIT  OF  MY  OWN  BACK  175 

do  you  mean?    You  knew  that  when  you  sent  me 
this." 

He  handed  me  a  letter  as  follows : 

"  DEAR  OLD  FRIEND, — 

"  Come  to  me  at  once  to  the  Kreuzstadt  fortress. 
I  am  a  prisoner.  For  God's  sake. 

"  ROBERT  ANSTRUTHER." 

"  I  cannot  write  this  myself,  but  do  not  fail  me." 

His  shrewd  eyes  were  fixed  upon  me  as  I  looked 
up.  "  Umph !  Who's  the  woman  ?  "  he  asked.  I 
hesitated  and  smiled  as  I  laid  the  letter  down,  and, 
to  fill  the  pause,  lighted  my  cigar.  "  Don't,"  he 
jerked.  I  started ;  for  the  warning  came  so  pat  on 
my  thoughts  of  the  best  tale  to  make. 

I  looked  across  and  met  his  keen,  penetrating 
gaze. 

"  Young  Bob  Anstruther,  if  you  try  and  lie  to 
me  I'll  throw  up  the  whole  thing.  Trust  me  with 
the  truth,  and  I'll  do  for  you  what  your  father's 
friend  should." 

"  The  secret  is  not  mine  and " 

"  Devil  take  the  boy,"  he  burst  in  vehemently. 
"  Don't  I  love  John  Anstruther's  son  like  my  own 
child,  or  do  you  think  an  old  diplomat  gabs  and 
blabs  like  a  washerwoman?  Confound  you,  do  you 
want  to  make  me  give  you  my  word  of  honour,  you 
young  idiot  ?  " 

I  hesitated  no  longer,  but  told  him  the  whole 
story  from  the  meeting  with  Volna  at  Bratinsk  rail- 


1 76    IN  THE  CAUSE  OF  FREEDOM 

way  station  down  to  'that  moment,  omitting  only 
the  part  which  referred  to  Father  Ambrose  and  the 
Fraternity  signals. 

"  The  portion  I  don't  tell  you  doesn't  affect  my 
case,  General;  and  I  am  under  my  pledged  word 
not  to  reveal  it." 

"You've  told  me  about  enough,"  he  retorted 
grimly;  and  for  a  while  we  sat  and  smoked  and 
looked  at  one  another  in  silence. 

Presently,  with  a  short  laugh,  he  took  his  cigar 
from  his  lips.  "  You're  a  hot-headed  young  fool, 
Bob,  just  that  and  nothing  more.  But " — he 
paused,  brushed  back  his  grey  hair,  sighed,  and  then 
smiled — "  I  suppose  at  your  age  I  should  have  done 
pretty  much  the  same,  and  I'm  cock-sure  your  father 
would." 

"  I'll  take  my  gruelling,  sir,  if  it  comes  to  it." 

"  Don't  talk  nonsense,  boy.  Do  you  think  I'll 
let  'em  touch  you  ?  But  we  must  move  very  warily. 
Will  you  apologize  to  Colonel  Bremenhof?" 

"  I'll  see  him  hanged  first,"  I  cried. 

He  grinned  and  nodded.  "  You  mean  to  make  it 
as  stiff  for  me  as  you  can.  That's  always  the  way 
with  young  folk." 

"  Would  you  have  me  apologize  to  him  ?  " 

His  face  stiffened  and  his  eyelids  came  together 
till  they  were  mere  slits  through  which  his  pupils 
gleamed.  "  I'm  glad  you  hit  him ;  although  that 
blow  is  just  the  toughest  nut  to  crack.  But  we 
must  get  to  work.  Thank  Heaven,  he  put  himself 
in  the  wrong  as  usual." 


I  GET  A  BIT  OF  MY  OWN  BACK  177 

He  rang  the  bell  and  sent  for  the  governor.  His 
manner  became  suddenly  as  stern  as  with  me  it  had 
been  kind. 

"  There  has  been  a  very  serious  miscarriage  of 
justice  here,  Major  Pruladoff.  This  is  Mr.  Robert 
Anstruther,  the  son  of  a  man  who  was  the  intimate 
friend  of  half  the  Berlin  Court  and  trusted  by  the 
Emperor.  His  imprisonment  is  nothing  short  of  an 
outrage,  and  what  makes  it  really  serious  is  that  his 
demand,  made  as  his  right,  to  see  the  British  Consul 
and  to  communicate  with  me,  was  refused." 

"  I  know  nothing  of  that,  of  course,  General. 
He  was  brought  here  on  the  order  of  Colonel 
Bremenhof." 

"  Oblige  me  by  calling  him  up  on  the  telephone, 
and  let  me  speak  with  him." 

Some  minutes  passed  before  the  governor  an- 
nounced that  the  Colonel  was  waiting.  My  old 
friend  went  to  the  instrument. 

"  Is  that  Colonel  Bremenhof?  This  is  General 
von  Eckerstein.  I  wish  to  know  why,  when  the 
young  Englishman,  Robert  Anstruther,  was  brought 
before  you,  you  refused  to  allow  him  to  communi- 
cate with  the  British  Consul  and  with  me,  his 
friend?  What's  that?  That  does  not  answer  my 
question.  By  what  right  did  you  refuse?  What's 
that  ?  I  can't  hear  you.  Oh,  your  mouth  is  swollen 
and  you  can  only  speak  with  difficulty  ?  " 

This  was  for  my  benefit,  I  knew,  and  I  would 
have  smiled  if  Major  Pruladoff  hadn't  been  frown- 
ing grimly  at  me. 


1 78    IN  THE  CAUSE  OF  FREEDOM 

"  You  can  give  me  a  direct  answer  all  the  same," 
continued  the  General  at  the  instrument.  There 
was  a  pause,  filled  by  the  insistent  buzz  of  the  voice 
replying.  "  That  is  no  reason.  You  know  that, 
sir.  What?  Well,  you  can't  treat  Englishmen  like 
that.  It  will  be  my  countryman's  turn  next.  But 
you  had  his  papers.  Very  well,  then,  I  am  going 
now  to  the  governor.  Yes,  of  course  I  will,  as  for 
my  own  countryman,  as  my  own  son,  in  fact.  Non- 
sense. What  your  men  thought  doesn't  touch  the 
point  of  your  refusal.  You  know  that.  Well,  if  you 
don't  think  the  thing  had  better  be  hushed  up,  there's 
an  end  of  it.  Mr.  Anstruther  will  communicate 
with  the  Consul  here  and  wire  to  the  Ambassador 
at  Petersburg.  What  do  you  mean?  Do  you  dare 
to  try  and  make  me  a  party  to  your  illegal  act? 
Then  you  shouldn't  suggest  it.  Certainly.  If  you 
don't  send  down  an  order  for  his  release  I  shall  not 
exert  any  further  influence  to  restrain  Mr.  An- 
struther from  using  his  unquestionable  rights,  and 
shall  myself  wire  to  the  Minister  of  the  Interior.  An 
hour.  No,  sir,  not  five  minutes.  At  once ! "  and 
the  General  hung  up  the  receiver. 

The  telephone  bell  rang  furiously. 

"  Just  write  a  short  note  to  Mr.  Hardy,  the  Con- 
sul, Robert,  and  I'll  take  it  to  him  myself.  He  will 
at  once  communicate  with  Petersburg  and  in  the 
meantime  I'll  wire  to  the  Minister.  You'll  permit 
the  letter  to  be  written,  Major?  " 

The  bell  was  going  all  the  time. 

"  I  am  in  a  difficult  position,  General,"  replied 


I  GET  A  BIT  OF  MY  OWN  BACK  179 

the  governor.  "  That  is  probably  Colonel  Bremen- 
hof.  Won't  you  answer?  " 

"  Certainly  not.  You'd  better  ask  him  if  he  per- 
sists in  his  refusal;  and  you  may  add  it  doesn't 
matter,  because  I  shall  see  Mr.  Hardy." 

"  The  Colonel  wishes  to  speak  to  you  again, 
General,"  said  the  Major  from  the  instrument. 

"  I  have  no  more  time  to  waste  over  the  tele- 
phone ;  "  and  my  friend  put  on  his  overcoat.  "  You 
must  go  back  to  your  cell,  Robert ;  but  Mr.  Hardy 
is  a  prompt  man,  and  before  morning  we  shall  have 
word  of  some  kind  from  Petersburg.  Good-night, 
boy ; "  and  as  he  shook  my  hand  he  winked. 

"  General  von  Eckerstein  is  going,  Colonel,"  said 
the  governor  through  the  telephone.  "  The  Colonel 
wishes  to  know  where  you  are  going,  General." 

"  Tell  him  to  mind  to  his  own  business  and  I'll 
mind  mine,"  was  the  angry  reply,  and  it  was  re- 
peated over  the  wire. 

The  General  walked  to  the  door  and  opened  it. 

"  The  Colonel  urgently  begs  you  to  speak  with 
him,  General." 

"  Am  I  to  wait  for  that  letter  to  be  written  or 
not,  sir?  "  His  face  might  have  been  a  stone  mask 
in  its  sternness. 

"  Please  wait  a  moment,  General.  As  a  personal 
favour  to  me.  I  really  don't  know  what  to  do." 

"  I  have  no  more  time  to  waste,  I  say.  I  demand 
a  reply  now." 

"Mr.  Anstruther,  will  you  ask  the  General?  It 
may  be  of  the  highest  moment  to  you." 


i8o    IN  THE  CAUSE  OF  FREEDOM 

A  very  different  sort  of  governor  this  from  the 
one  who  had  lectured  me  so  sternly  in  my  cell,  and 
then  glibly  sentenced  me  to  the  knout. 

"  No.  I  have  been  treated  too  infamously.  I 
prefer  to  put  the  matter  in  the  hands  of  the  British 
authorities,"  I  answered.  "  All  Europe  shall  know 
how  foreigners  are  treated  in  Warsaw." 

A  glance  from  the  General  approved  my  reply. 

"  You  can  write  to  your  Consul,  then."  We  both 
understood  that  this  was  merely  intended  to  gain 
delay,  and  we  wasted  some  time  in  pretended  dif- 
ficulty about  phrasing  the  letter,  while  a  conversation 
continued  over  the  wire  which  clearly  showed  the 
man  at  the  other  end  was  in  trouble. 

"  That's  enough,  Bob,"  said  the  General  pres- 
ently. "  You  can  tell  him  all  when  he  comes." 

"  Thank  Heaven,"  breathed  the  governor  with  a 
sigh  of  relief  as  the  receiver  was  hung  up  again. 
"  One  moment,  General.  The  Colonel  is  sending 
an  order  for  Mr.  Anstruther's  release  upon  your 
giving  me  your  assurance  to  be  responsible  for  him." 

"  Just  in  time,"  exclaimed  my  old  friend,  curtly 
and  ungraciously,  as  he  tore  up  the  paper,  on  which, 
by-the-bye,  I  had  not  written  a  line.  "  And  about 
that  infernal  knouting  ?  " 

"  The  affair  is  now  out  of  my  hands ; "  and  the 
governor  gave  another  sigh  of  relief. 

Half  an  hour  later  the  order  arrived,  and  we  left 
the  prison  together. 


CHAPTER    XVII 

"DO    YOU    LOVE   VOLNA   DRAKONA?" 

'  I  kHE  next  day  I  did  nothing  except  fit  myself 
•*•  out  with  some  new  clothes,  and  speculate  about 
my  future  course. 

I  could  not  decide  anything  until  I  saw  the 
General ;  and  before  I  rose  he  had  gone  out  and  had 
left  word  for  me  to  wait  in  the  house  for  him. 

After  the  harrassing  uncertainty  of  my  spell  in 
prison,  the  scene  with  Bremenhof  on  the  previous 
day,  and  the  disturbing  ordeal  of  the  crisis  it  had 
produced,  the  mere  rest  and  sense  of  security  were 
indescribably  welcome. 

I  had  plenty  to  think  about,  of  course,  but  it  was 
more  like  floundering  speculation  than  consecutive 
thought.  How  Volna  had  returned  to  Warsaw? 
What  was  behind  her  visit  to  the  prison?  What 
the  connection  was  between  her  and  Colonel  Brem- 
enhof? What  his  motive  could  be  in  bringing  her 
to  the  prison  ?  Whether  she  had  fallen  under  sus- 
picion? How  was  I  to  set  about  ascertaining  the 
truth?  How  to  find  means  of  seeing  her  again? 
With  no  facts  to  guide  me,  I  could  not  answer  the 
puzzling  questions  which  suggested  themselves  thus 
readily. 

"  I  have  settled  your  matter/'  said  the  General 
when  we  were  closeted  together  in  the  evening. 

181 


1 82    IN  THE  CAUSE  OF  FREEDOM 

"  Here  are  your  papers,  passport,  and  letter  of 
credit;  and  I  have  succeeded  in  making  Colonel 
Bremenhof  understand  that  the  affair  with  him  had 
better  be  regarded  as  a  personal  quarrel.  I  have 
pledged  my  word  for  you — that  you  are  no  more  a 
revolutionary  than  I  am;  that  in  anything  you  may 
have  done,  you  were  just  a  tool  in  others'  hands." 

"  That's  rather  rough  on  the  '  others,' "  I  pro- 
tested. 

"  There  will  be  an  opportunity  given  to  you,  the 
day  after  to-morrow,  to  say  all  you  know  about  the 
partner  of  your  flight  from  Bratinsk." 

"  It  will  be  devilish  awkward,"  I  murmured. 

"  Better  than  three  hundred  lashes,  isn't  it  ?  "  he 
returned  drily.  "  But  you  don't  see  the  point.  The 
day  after  to-morrow." 

"  One  day  is  just  as  awkward  as  another." 

"  You're  not  as  sharp  as  your  father,  Bob." 

"  Sons  never  are,"  I  agreed,  with  a  grin. 

"  He'd  have  known  what  to  do  with  a  day  and 
a  half's  grace,  and  a  passport  put  back  in  his  hands." 

"  Oh!    You  mean  I  should  bolt?  " 

"  Are  you  going  to  make  an  egregious  young  ass 
of  yourself  again?  " 

"  It  looks  like  it  to  you,  no  doubt,"  I  said,  a  little 
sheepishly. 

"  Umph.     There's  a  train  west  at  midnight." 

There  was  a  long  pause.  "  Do  you  think  my 
father  would  have  bolted?  "  I  asked. 

He  pursed  his  lips  and  frowned.  "  Is  she  so  much 
to  you?" 


"DO  YOU  LOVE  VOLNAS"      183 

"  She  is  the  one  woman  in  the  world  to  me." 

He  appeared  to  expect  the  answer  and  yet  to 
regret  it.  "  Then,  of  course,  you'll  stay.  You  see 
what  it  means  ?  " 

"  I  don't  care  what  it  means." 

"  I've  got  you  out  of  this  mess,  but  if  you  give 
Bremenhof  another  chance  against  you,  you'll  have 
to  shift  for  yourself.  I  shall  be  powerless  to  help 
you.  I  can't  tell  you  official  secrets,  but  I  may  warn 
you  that  we  are  face  to  face  with  events  the  results 
of  which  no  man  can  foresee.  It  may  spell  revolu- 
tion and  bloodshed;  and  to  be  even  a  suspect  then 
will  be  full  of  hazard  and  peril." 

"  The  more  reason  for  me  to  stop." 

"  Bremenhof  has  already  great  power,  and  if  a 
crisis  comes,  he  will  have  a  free  hand.  He  hates 
you, — not  only  for  what  you  have  done  to  him,  but 
for  another  reason.  Volna  Drakona  is  betrothed 
to  him." 

"  To  that  brutal  bully?    I  can't  believe  it." 

"  I  know  what  I  say.  If  he  gets  half  a  chance  at 
you,  you'll  feel  his  hand.  Take  my  advice  and  go." 
He  was  very  earnest. 

"  Not  for  fifty  infernal  Bremenhofs,"  I  cried 
passionately. 

He  flung  the  end  of  his  cigar  away  and  rose. 
"That's  your  last  word?  It  may  prove  a  serious 
mistake  for  the  girl's  sake." 

"  My  last  word — absolutely." 

A  half  quizzical  smile  relieved  the  earnestness  of 
his  look  for  a  moment.  "  I  believe  you'll  make  an 


1 84     IN  THE  CAUSE  OF  FREEDOM 

awful  mess  of  things,  Bob;  but  it's  glorious  to  be 

young.  If  I  can  help  you,  I  will ;  but "  a  shrug 

of  the  shoulders  and  a  toss  of  the  hands  finished 
the  sentence,  as  he  turned  away  to  his  desk. 

I  bade  him  good-night  a  few  minutes  later  and 
thanked  him  again  for  his  help. 

"  Sleep  over  it  all ;  perhaps  it  will  look  different 
in  the  morning  and  you  may  be  able  to  see  how  your 
staying  can  help  the  girl.  I  can't."  Then  with 
the  same  kindly,  half-quizzical  smile  he  added :  "  But 
then  I'm  only  a  thin-blooded  old  cynic  and  you're 
a  pulseful  young  fellow  in  love.  A  tremendous 
difference,  Bob.  Eh?  Tremendous." 

Sleep  over  it  I  did  not,  at  least  for  some  hours; 
but  worry  over  it  I  did  certainly,  tossing  and  turn- 
ing restlessly  until  near  the  dawn ;  striving  to  under- 
stand this  new  complication  of  Volna's  betrothal  to 
Bremenhof. 

If  he  knew  or  suspected  that  I  had  helped  her  at 
Bratinsk,  I  could  understand  his  treatment  of  me. 
A  beast  by  nature  and  a  bully  by  official  opportunity, 
if  his  jealousy  had  been  roused  it  was  quite  likely 
to  render  him  the  brute  he  had  shewn  himself  to  me. 
It  would  explain  his  having  brought  her  to  my 
cell.  He  had  probably  wished  to  confirm  or  dissi- 
pate his  suspicion  that  Volna  had  been  my  com- 
panion in  the  flight.  Yet  he  could  have  done  that 
in  a  moment  by  confronting  her  with  either  of  the 
police  agents.  Why  had  he  not  done  that? 

Puzzling  over  this  question  I  stumbled  on  what 
might  possibly  be  the  key.  He  might  wish  for 


"DO  YOU  LOVE  VOLNA  ?"      185 

private  reasons  to  convince  himself  and  yet  be  un- 
willing to  do  this  officially.  If  the  police  agents 
recognised  her,  he  might  be  unable  to  shield  her 
from  the  consequences  of  her  act. 

This  gave  me  another  idea.  If  he  was  afraid  to 
have  Volna  publicly  and  officially  identified,  I  saw 
how  to  bluff  him.  I  could  demand  to  have  my 
examination  a  strictly  official  one;  and  so  outplay 
him. 

His  object  was  now  to  frighten  me  away  from 
Warsaw  by  threatening  to  have  me  examined  as  to 
my  part;  but  if  I  could  convince  him  that  I  meant 
that  examination  to  end  in  the  public  identification 
of  Volna,  he  would  be  as  loath  to  hold  it  as  I  was 
to  face  it. 

But  I  must  first  satisfy  myself  of  the  facts  behind 
this  betrothal.  I  recalled  her  reference  to  an 
entanglement;  but  I  laughed  at  the  notion  that  she 
cared  for  him.  Yet  how  could  I  get  at  the  truth  ? 

This  question  was  still  unsettled  when  I  rose  the 
next  morning;  and  then  Fortune  did  me  a  good 
turn  and  put  the  answer  in  my  reach. 

The  General  looked  a  little  troubled  when  he  met 
me.  "  I  have  had  a  telephone  message  about  ^you, 
Bob.  From  Count  Ladislas  Tuleski." 

I  beamed.  He  was  the  very  man  to  tell  me  all  I 
wished  to  know.  "  He's  one  of  my  best  friends, 
General.  He  saved  my  life  a  couple  of  years  ago 
in  the  Alps  at  the  risk  of  his  own.  It's  a  stroke  of 
luck  if  he's  in  the  city." 

"There  are  two  kinds  of  luck,  so  that  may  be 


1 86     IN  THE  CAUSE  OF  FREEDOM 

true.  He  had  heard  you  were  here  and  wants  to 
see  you." 

"  Not  half  so  badly  as  I  want  to  see  him." 

"  You  know  he  is  one  of  the  Fraternity  leaders?  " 

"  He's  the  gentlest  soul  in  the  world  and  wouldn't 
hurt  a  fly." 

"  If  you  go  to  his  house  under  the  circumstances, 
it  will  be  looked  upon  as  suspicious;  to-day  of  all 
days  in  the  year.  I  warn  you." 

"Why  to-day?" 

"  I  forgot  you  had  been  in  prison  for  nearly  a 
week  and  don't  know  the  news.  Every  eye  in 
Russia  to-day  is  waiting  on  events  in  Petersburg. 
The  strikers  are  going  to  the  Winter  Palace  to 
petition  the  Czar,  and  if  bloodshed  follows,  as  seems 
inevitable,  it  may  spread  over  the  whole  Empire." 

"  What  has  that  to  do  with  my  seeing  my 
friend?" 

"  You  are  playing  witH  words,  boy,"  he  an- 
swered sternly.  "  He  is  a  leader  of  this  movement ; 
you  are  half  suspect  now;  and  if  the  trouble  we 
fear  comes,  you  will  give  Bremenhof  the  chance  he 
seeks  against  you." 

"  I  am  not  afraid  of  Colonel  Bremenhof.  I  have 
some  questions  to  ask  Ladislas  that  cannot 
wait." 

"  I  can  only  warn  you,  of  course,  but  if  you  were 
my  son,  I  declare  to  God  I'd  put  you  under  lock 
and  key  to  stop  this  madness,"  he  burst  out  almost 
fiercely. 

His  vehemence  seemed  to  me  quite  unwarranted 


"DO  YOU  LOVE  VOLNA?"       187 

and  all  out  of  perspective.  "  I  shall  come  to  no 
harm,  sir." 

"  You  don't  see  what  you  are  doing,  boy.  It  is 
madness — nothing  short  of  it.  Remember  my  warn- 
ing when  the  trouble  comes,  as  it  certainly  will," 
and  he  turned  away. 

"  I  am  sorry  to  anger  you,  sir ;  but  I  fear  I  haven't 
made  you  understand  all  that  this  means  to  me.  I 
value  your  friendship  and,  believe  me,  I  would  take 
your  advice  now  if  I  could.  But  all  I  care  about  in 
the  world  is  concerned  in  this,  and  I  must  find  out 
the  truth." 

He  turned,  paused,  appeared  to  hesitate,  and  then 
shook  his  head.  "  No,  I  will  be  no  party  to  foolish- 
ness of  this  kind.  I  must  not.  You  are  taking  a 
risk  you  don't  or  won't  understand ; "  and  he  left 
me. 

I  knew  that  real  solicitude  for  me  was  at  the 
bottom  of  my  old  friend's  anger  and  I  was  genu- 
inely sorry  for  the  misunderstanding  which  had 
arisen;  but  I  could  not  listen  to  his  counsel.  Find 
out  the  truth  about  Volna's  betrothal  I  must  and 
would ;  and  short  of  going  to  Volna  herself  for  it — 
an  obviously  impossible  course — to  see  Ladislas  was 
the  only  thing  to  do. 

As  I  hastened  to  his  house  I  perceived  one  thing, 
however.  I  could  no  longer  remain  under  the  Gen- 
eral's roof.  That  might  compromise  him:  and  I 
resolved  to  write  him  from  Ladislas'  house  that  I 
should  not  return. 

I  found  my  friend  in  a  condition  of  excitement 


1 88    IN  THE  CAUSE  OF  FREEDOM 

unusual  even  with  him.  He  was  always  impulsive 
and  a  slave  to  the  mood  of  the  moment,  and  I  had 
long  ceased  to  be  surprised  by  his  neurotic  impetu- 
osity and  feverish  unrest.  It  was  this  very  self- 
regardless  impetuosity,  indeed,  which  had  led  him 
to  offer  his  life  for  mine  when  he  had  dashed  to  my 
rescue  in  the  mountaineering  incident  which  had 
bound  us  together  in  bonds  of  close  and  affectionate 
friendship. 

"  I  had  no  idea  you  were  in  Warsaw,  Ladislas," 
I  said,  as  I  gripped  his  hand,  "  I  can't  tell  you  how 
glad  I  am  to  see  you." 

He  held  my  hand  and  wheeled  me  round  to  the 
light  as  he  stared  into  my  eyes.  "  Let  me  look  at 
you.  Do  you  come  as  a  friend  ?  " 

I  should  have  smiled,  but  for  his  careworn, 
harrassed,  eager  expression  as  he  put  the  strange 
question.  "  I  hope  I  shall  never  come  to  you  as 
anything  but  a  friend." 

His  black  eyes  shone  for  the  second  he  continued 
to  stare  at  me.  Then  he  dropped  my  hand,  and 
exclaimed.  "  My  God,  I  hope  so.  My  God,  I  hope 
so;  but  there  are  things  which  turn  even  friends 
into  enemies ; "  and  he  sighed  as  he  thrust  his 
fingers  through  his  hair — he  had  the  head  of  a  poet 
or  musician  and  wore  his  fair  hair  quite  long — and 
began  to  pace  up  and  down  the  room.  It  was 
difficult  for  him  to  keep  still  at  any  time;  and  in 
moments  of  unusual  excitement  he  was  as  volatile 
as  quicksilver. 

"  It  will  have  to  be  something  serious  to  turn  us 


"DO  YOU  LOVE  VOLNA?"       189 

into  enemies,  Ladislas,"  I  replied.  "  But  tell  me 
what  it  is  you  think  might  do  it.  I  shan't  shirk 
a  test,  I  promise  you." 

"  Ah,  you  know  there  is  something,  then,  Robert," 
he  cried,  wheeling  round  abruptly  and  with  quite  a 
suggestion  of  fierceness.  He  was  the  only  intimate 
I  had  who  refused  to  call  me  Bob.  He  considered 
it  undignified,  he  had  once  said. 

"  I  only  know  that  you  sent  for  me,  my  dear 
fellow,  and  I  can  see  for  myself  that  you  are  upset. 
Tell  me." 

He  started  on  his  walk  again  and  in  the  pause  I 
lighted  a  cigar.  Five  or  six  times  he  crossed  and 
recrossed  the  room,  his  hands  in  his  hair,  in  his 
pockets,  and  tugging  at  the  lapels  of  his  coat  in 
turn.  Then  he  came  and  stood  over  me  and  fixed 
his  great  eyes  on  mine. 

"  Do  you  love  Volna  Drakona  ?  Answer  me ; 
on  your  solemn  word  of  honour,  for  the  love  of 
God." 


CHAPTER   XVIII 
FOR  FRIENDSHIP'S  SAKE 

MY  friend's  question  came  like  a  clap  of  thunder 
in  the  clear  blue  of  a  summer  sky,  so  abso- 
lutely startling  was  its  surprise. 

In  the  second's  pause  before  I  replied,  many  of 
the  complicating  possibilities  involved  in  it  flashed 
upon  me  as  his  burning  almost  passionate  gaze  was 
bent  upon  me. 

I  pushed  my  chair  back,  rose  and  gripped  his 
hand.  "  We  must  talk  this  over,  Ladislas,  as 
friends." 

"  Answer  me.  Answer  me,"  he  cried,  trying  to 
release  his  hand.  "  I  must  know,  before  we  talk  of 
friendship." 

"  I  will  answer  you.  I  give  you  my  honour  you 
shall  have  nothing  but  the  truth  from  me;  but  I 
must  first  know  all  that  lies  behind  the  question 
and  all  that  depends  upon  it.  Come,  man,  speak  out 
Don't  try  to  drag  your  hand  away.  We  are  men 
as  well  as  dear  friends;  and  whatever  has  to  be 
said  or  done,  must  not  and  shall  not  break  our 
friendship."  I  placed  my  other  hand  on  his  shoul- 
der. "  Can't  you  agree  to  this  ?  " 

"  Not  if  you  have  come  between  me  and  her." 

"  You  are  unbalanced  in  your  excitement,  or  you 
190 


FOR  FRIENDSHIP'S  SAKE         191 

would  never  say  that  to  me.  Understand  what  I 
say.  Nothing — mark,  nothing  shall  ever  make  me 
other  than  your  friend." 

I  felt  him  trembling  under  my  hand;  and  again 
he  tried  to  free  himself. 

"  No,  Ladislas ;  I  do  not  let  you  go  until  you 
agree  in  that.  You  saved  my  life  once.  Do  you 
think  I  forget?  I  told  you  then  that  if  the  day 
ever  came  for  me  to  pay  the  debt,  I  should  be  glad. 
Now,  what  is  this  girl  to  you  ?  " 

"  More  than  my  life.  My  God,  much  more. 
More  than  even  my  honour,  I  believe,  God  help  me." 

I  steadied  myself  and  spoke  firmly.  "  .What  is  it 
you  ask  of  me?  " 

His  large  expressive  eyes  lighted  with  eagerness. 
"  Can  you  do  this  for  me  ?  Can  you  give  her  to 
me?" 

I  clenched  my  hands  until  the  nails  dug  into  the 
palms  with  the  intensity  of  my  effort  for  composure. 
It  was  the  crisis  of  my  life. 

"My  God,  you  cannot?  You  will  not?  And 
you  pledged  your  oath.  I  saved  your  life;  and  you 
are  false  to  your  word."  He  said  this  rapidly, 
vehemently,  fiercely.  Then  with  a  sudden  change 
he  flung  himself  into  a  chair  and  covered  his  face 
with  his  hands,  crying:  "  God,  God,  what  a  coward 
lam!" 

I  resumed  my  seat  and  as  I  faced  the  sacrifice 
that  was  now  demanded  of  me,  the  old  scene  flashed 
vividly  into  my  thoughts. 

On  a  treacherous  slope  of  crumbling  rubble  not 


1 92     IN  THE  CAUSE  OF  FREEDOM 

thirty  feet  from  the  edge  of  an  Alpine  abyss,  drop- 
ping a  thousand  feet  sheer  to  the  rocks  below,  a 
young  fellow  lay  on  his  back,  sweat-stained  and 
staring,  heels  and  hands  dug  desperately  into  the 
yielding  surface  as  he  measured  the  inches  and  reck- 
oned the  moments  between  him  and  the  death  yawn- 
ing just  below  him.  Slip,  slip,  slip,  an  inch  or  two 
at  a  time,  he  slid.  Clutch  as  he  would  with  his 
bleeding  fingers  and  strain  as  he  did,  he  could  not 
prevent  himself  from  being  carried  down,  down, 
down  with  slow  but  heart-sickening  certainty. 

Death  seemed  inevitable;  and  as  it  is  better  to 
die  quickly  than  to  linger  with  nerve-racking  hope- 
lessness, he  had  made  up  his  mind  to  let  himself 
go  and  get  it  over,  when  a  cheery  call  came  from 
above,  and  the  light  of  hope  was  kindled  once  again 
in  his  beating  heart. 

At  the  hazard  of  his  life  another  man  launched 
himself  on  that  death  slide  and,  with  a  courage 
equalled  only  by  his  mountaineering  skill,  carried 
a  rope  to  his  friend  and  saved  his  life  just  as  his 
feet  reached  the  very  brink  of  the  abyss. 

I  was  the  clumsy  fool  who  had  stupidly  jeopar- 
dized my  life  and  Ladislas  the  friend  who  offered 
his  to  save  me. 

And  now  Volna  was  to  be  the  price!  He  had 
called  for  it:  had  thrown  in  my  teeth  the  pledge  I 
had  given;  and  had  chided  me  for  my  unreadiness 
to  redeem  it.  This  the  friend  whom  I  had  always 
deemed  the  type  of  honour  and  chivalry!  Bar- 
gaining for  the  body  of  the  woman  he  loved ! 

In  the  first  bitter  moment  my  soul  rose  in  passion- 


FOR  FRIENDSHIPS  SAKE         193 

ate  rebellion  against  the  sacrifice.  Nothing  in  all 
my  life  had  ever  moved  me  so  deeply.  To  make 
myself  a  party  to  the  bargain  was  to  do  dishonour  to 
Volna  herself.  What  right  had  we  to  take  this 
thing  into  our  hands  and  settle  her  life  for  her?  It 
was  for  her,  not  for  us,  to  make  a  decision  so  vital 
to  her  happiness. 

Such  a  price  as  this  had  never  been  in  contem- 
plation. He  knew  this  as  well  as  I.  And  at  that 
point  my  memory  played  me  a  curious  trick.  My 
thoughts  flashed  back  to  the  moment  of  cold  despair 
when  death  lay  gaping  just  below  me  on  that  moun- 
tain slide;  to  the  dazzling  change  to  hope  at  the 
sound  of  Ladislas'  cheery  call  of  encouragement. 
I  saw  him  again  working  his  way  toward  me,  death 
the  certain  penalty  of  a  single  unskilful  step;  and 
once  again  the  warm  glow  of  gratitude  for  the 
dauntless  courage  and  devotion  which  had  prompted 
my  pledge  then,  came  back  in  all  its  force  now. 

It  ended  the  struggle.  I  would  pay  the  price, 
let  the  cost  be  what  it  might. 

I  sighed  heavily  and  turned  to  find  him  lean- 
ing forward  watching  me  intently  and  waiting,  as 
though  he  divined  the  struggle  that  was  rending  me. 

I  smiled.  "  I  won't  pretend  that  it  hasn't  cost 
me  a  struggle,  Ladislas;  but  it's  over:  and  we  can 
still  be  friends." 

"  How  strong  you  are !  "  he  exclaimed. 

"  You  wouldn't  think  there  was  much  strength 
in  me  if  you  knew  the  bitter  things  I  was  thinking 
just  now  of  you." 

"You  love  her,  then?" 


194    IN  THE  CAUSE  OF  FREEDOM 

"  I  can't  help  that — but  I  can  'trust  myself  for 
the  rest.  Would  to  Heaven  I  had  known  before 
this  had  happened  at  Bratinsk!  So  little  did  I 
suspect,  I  came  to-day  to  ask  you  the  meaning  of 
her  betrothal  to  Colonel  Bremenhof." 

"  It  is  an  awful  mess !  "  he  exclaimed,  and  began 
pacing  the  room  again.  "  Count  Peter  arranged 
that.  It  was  a  blind  to  keep  the  Drakonas  from 
being  suspected.  Volna  consented  for  her  mother's 
sake;  but  she  was  candid,  telling  the  man  she  did 
not  care  for  him.  She  is  as  true  as  a  crystal.  Her 
sister  and  brother — do  you  know  them?  No? — • 
they  fed  him  with  lies  and  blinded  him;  all  at  the 
Count's  instigation." 

"Well?" 

"  Bremenhof  is  a  devil  for  cunning.  He  was  not 
deceived;  and  he  saw  at  once  that  his  hold  over 
Volna  was  her  fear  for  her  mother.  So  he  wormed 
and  moled  and  got  a  case  against  the  mother;  and 
now  he  swears  that  if  the  marriage  does  not  take 
place  at  once — to-day  or  at  latest  to-morrow — he 
will  have  the  mother  arrested,  and  Volna,  too." 

"  You  know  of  my  affair  with  him?  " 

"  Volna  told  me  you  struck  him.  He  took 
her  there  to  satisfy  himself  privately  that  she  had 
been  at  Bratinsk ;  and  have  that  to  hold  over  her." 

"  Why  have  you  let  her  stay  at  Warsaw  ?  " 

"  Count  Peter  was  bringing  her  to  Cracow  to  be 
married  to  me." 

"  Married  to  you !  I  don't  understand.  Were 
you  secretly  betrothed  ?  " 


FOR  FRIENDSHIP'S  SAKE        195 

"  No,  no.  She  had  no  thought  of  it,  until  Count 
Peter  told  her  at  Bratinsk.  But  she  knows  how 
I  love  her;  and  we  should  have  won  her  to 
consent." 

I  remembered  her  statement  to  me  at  Bratinsk; 
that  she  had  meant  to  escape  and  return  to  Warsaw. 
But  I  kept  this  to  myself. 

"And  now?" 

"  She  is  changed.  It  is  you  who  have  changed 
her.  She  can  scarcely  be  kept  from  breaking  with 
Bremenhof.  I  don't  know  what  to  do.  My  God,  I 
don't  know  what  to  do." 

"  It's  plain  enough.  Take  her  and  her  mother 
away  from  Warsaw." 

"  How  can  I  go,  man  ?  In  Heaven's  name,  how 
can  I  go?  We  are  on  the  eve  of  the  most  glorious 
crisis  in  our  country's  history ;  and  we  leaders  dare 
not  leave  our  posts." 

"  Send  them  away  then  in  some  one  else's  care." 

"  Why  ?  This  city  is  the  safest  place  in  all  the 
Empire  for  them.  To-day  the  great  demonstration 
at  Petersburg  will  show  the  Czar  and  those  about 
him  and  all  the  world  that  the  people's  just  demands 
can  no  longer  be  resisted.  The  power  of  these 
tyrants  will  be  shattered  against  the  greater  might 
of  the  people's  will.  You  know  my  dreams  of  old. 
They  are  coming  true.  We  are  on  the  eve  of  the 
greatest  revolution  the  world  has  ever  seen :  greatest 
in  purpose,  widest  in  area,  most  beneficial  in  results 
— and  what  is  greatest  of  all — to  be  achieved  with- 
out the  shedding  of  a  drop  of  blood." 


i96    IN  THE  CAUSE  OF  FREEDOM 

"  A  bloodless  revolution  will  be  a  new  thing  in 
history,  Ladislas,  especially  under  Russian  methods." 

"  You  do  not  understand  and  so  you  doubt.  But 
we  know.  The  army  is  with  us  almost  to  a  man. 
They  are  of  the  people,  blood  of  blood  and  bone 
of  bone  in  close-knit  kinship;  and  when  the  hour 
strikes,  the  people  will  rise  in  every  city,  tbwn,  and 
hamlet,  rise  as  one  man;  and  at  that  rising  the 
musket  of  every  soldier  will  be  grounded  and  not 
a  sword  will  leave  its  scabbard.  Peace  is  our  watch- 
word; peace  our  method;  peace  and  brotherhood 
our  end." 

"  It  is  not  only  Polish  independence  then  ?  " 

"  Poland  will  be  free.  Poland  will  lift  her  head 
again,  a  nation  among  the  nations :  but  all  Russia 
will  be  free  in  the  gigantic  upheaval." 

His  eyes  gleamed  with  excitement  as  he  strode 
up  and  down  flinging  his  arms  about;  his  enthusi- 
asm fired  by  his  own  rhapsody.  He  was  very  much 
the  dreamer;  and  he  gave  the  reins  to  his  dream 
with  voluble  energy. 

"Have  you  any  practical  men  among  you?"  I 
asked,  when  at  length  he  paused. 

"  We  are  all  practical.  My  dear  friend,  you  do 
not  know  us." 

"  True ;  but  suppose  you  are  wrong  and  that  in 
some  places  the  troops  stand  by  the  Government, 
what  will  you  do?  " 

"Should  we  legislate  for  the  impossible?"  and 
he  went  on  with  a  hundred  and  fifty  unconvincing 
and  inconsequent  reasons  why  nothing  of  the  kind 


FOR  FRIENDSHIP'S  SAKE         197 

could  occur.  "  We  are  offering  liberty — liberty,  the 
grandest  gift  on  God's  green  earth — not  only  to  the 
people,  but  to  the  soldiers  themselves.  They  are 
not  fools,  or  blind,  or  idiots  to  refuse  it." 

"  But  your  troops  here  are  not  Poles,  but  Russians 
hating  the  Poles;  and  the  disposition  of  the  regi- 
ments all  over  the  Empire  is  on  the  same  principle. 
Do  you  tell  me  that  national  and  tribal  hatreds  are 
going  to  be  smothered  just  because  a  few  good  fel- 
lows like  you  hold  up  your  hands  and  cry  *  Liberty '  ? 
To  put  it  in  a  nutshell,  if  you  believe  this,  why  are 
you  afraid  of  what  Bremenhof  can  do  in  regard  to 
Volna?" 

To  my  surprise  and  concern  he  collapsed  entirely. 
He  threw  himself  into  a  chair  and  pressed  his  hand 
to  his  face.  "  Don't,  don't,"  he  cried.  "  You  give 
life  and  form  to  the  one  deadly  fear  that  chills  me 
when  I  can't  suppress  it;  that  haunts  me  at  night 
like  a  spectre,  and  paralyzes  me  with  the  agony 
of  its  hideous  possibilities.  I  dare  not  think  of 
it,  my  friend;  I  dare  not.  God,  God,  I  dare 
not." 

I  said  no  more.  He  was  curious  material  for 
revolutionary  work;  but  if  there  were  many  like 
him,  the  Fraternity  was  a  much  less  formidable 
body  than  I  had  deemed,  despite  the  evidence  I  had 
had  of  its  widespread  organization. 

Presently  he  roused  himself,  stood  up  and  appar- 
ently with  only  the  slightest  effort  shook  off  his 
depression. 

"  I  didn't  mean  to  inflict  this  on  you,"  he  said, 


198     IN  THE  CAUSE  OF  FREEDOM 

with  a  smile,  charming  but  almost  pathetically 
weary. 

My  patience  was  nearly  exhausted,  however. 
"  What  are  you  going  to  do  to  save  her?  "  I  asked 
bluntly. 

He  shook  back  his  long  hair,  and  smiled.  "  To- 
morrow there  will  be  no  more  thought  or  talk  of 
danger." 

Just  then  he  was  called  out,  and  when  he  returned 
a  few  minutes  later,  his  face  was  grey  and  drawn 
and  haggard  with  anxiety. 

"  You  must  take  her  away  from  Warsaw,"  he 
said. 

"  I  ?    Ladislas !    What  do  you  mean  ?  " 

He  held  up  a  paper  in  his  trembling  hand. 
"  News  from  Petersburg.  The  soldiers  are  drawn 
up  in  thousands  all  over  the  city  there.  Guns  are 
posted  in  all  directions ;  God  knows  what  is  going  to 
happen.  If  there  is  bloodshed  there,  hell  will  break 
loose  here.  You  alone  can  save  her." 

"  But,  Ladislas,  you  forget.  For  me  to  do  any- 
thing now " 

He    caught    both    my    hands    in    his    agitation. 

"  You'll  do  this,  Robert?    For  our  old  friendship's 

sake?    For  her  sake?    If  she  stays  here,  God  alone 

knows  what  may  happen.     You  must  do  it.     You 

must.    You  must."    He  was  almost  hysterical. 

"  But  after  what  I  have  told  you  about  her  and 
you  have  implied  to  me,  my  position " 

"  What  is  all  that  compared  to  her  safety?  Do 
you  think  I  would  not  trust  you?  Come  to  the 


FOR  FRIENDSHIP'S  SAKE         199 

house  with  me  at  once — this  instant.  Would  you 
leave  her  in  Bremenhof's  power?" 

"  No,  no,  I  cannot  go  with  you.  You  ask  too 
much.  For  her  sake,  no  less  than  mine,  you  must 
find  some  other  means,"  I  protested. 

"  There  is  no  other  way,"  he  cried,  impetuously 
and  vehemently.  "  She  shall  know  the  truth.  I 
will  tell  her  that  you  renounce — that — you  know 
what  I  mean.  For  God's  sake,  don't  hesitate  or 
it  may  be  too  late.  At  any  cost  she  must  be  saved ; 
and  her  family  can  do  nothing.  She  shall  know  that 
you  are  acting  for  me.  I  will  explain  everything. 
It  is  no  time  for  mere  scruples  or  personal  feeling. 
If  I  trust  you,  surely  you  can  trust  yourself." 

I  was  dead  set  against  the  plan:  every  impulse 
and  instinct  protesting,  except  the  desire  to  help 
Volna.  But  that  she  would  be  in  grievous  danger, 
should  there  be  a  rising  in  the  city,  was  a  fact  noth- 
ing could  explain  away ;  and  that  Ladislas  was  about 
the  last  man  in  the  world  to  be  able  to  save  her  in 
such  a  crisis  appeared  no  less  certain.  If  anything 
was  to  be  done,  someone  capable  of  taking  a  prac- 
tical view  of  things  must  do  it;  and  her  friends 
appeared  to  be  a  set  of  most  unpractical  theorists. 

But  if  I  was  to  do  anything,  it  must  be  made 
absolutely  plain  to  Volna  that  I  was  acting  for 
Ladislas — to  save  her  for  him.  Surely  a  most  awk- 
ward situation  to  explain.  But  he  continued  to 
urge  me  and  declared  he  would  leave  no  doubt  in 
her  mind;  and  at  length  I  yielded,  and  we  started 
for  the  Drakonas'  house. 


CHAPTER   XIX 

TURNING  THE  SCREW 

EMBARRASSING  as  my  position  must  have 
been  in  any  case,  it  was  made  much  worse 
by  the  manner  of  my  reception  at  the  Drakonas'. 

Volna's  half  sister,  Katinka,  received  us;  and 
the  moment  my  name  was  mentioned,  she  left  me 
no  room  to  doubt  that  so  far  as  she  was  concerned 
I  was  a  most  unwelcome  visitor. 

She  was  a  complete  contrast  in  appearance  to 
Volna.  A  slight,  wiry,  straight-backed,  acid-faced, 
little  woman  of  about  thirty,  with  a  pair  of  lustrous 
dark  eyes  so  disproportionately  large  that  the  rest 
of  the  features,  except  her  thin  straight  lips,  seemed 
to  pass  unnoticed.  She  gave  me  a  very  frigid  bow. 
"  We  have  of  course  heard  of  you  from  Volna,  Mr. 
Anstruther,"  she  said;  her  tonejimplying  that  what 
she  had  heard  was  by  no  means  to  my  credit;  and 
before  I  could  reply,  she  turned  to  Ladislas.  "  Has 
anything  happened  that  you  are  here  ?  " 

It  was  plain  to  see  that  he  was  not  at  ease  with 
her.  "  Where  is  Volna  ?  "  he  asked. 

"  She  is  out.  You  have  not  brought  Mr.  An- 
struther to  see  her?"  That  he  would  be  mad  to 
think  of  such  a  thing  was  her  meaning. 

"  I  have  decided  that  she  cannot  safely  remain 
in  the  city." 


TURNING  THE  SCREW          201 

"Indeed.  Why?  Or  perhaps  I  should  ask  this 
gentleman.  You  had  no  such  thought  when  I  saw 
you  last." 

"  I  have  had  grave  news  from  Petersburg  this 
morning,  Katinka." 

"  Oh,  are  you  going  to  run  away  ?  " 

"  Of  course  not." 

"Then  how  can  Volna  go?"  She  was  a  past 
master  in  the  art  of  insinuation. 

"  I  have  induced  my  friend  here  to  consent  to 
take  her." 

Her  large  eyes  opened  as  if  in  profound  astonish- 
ment as  she  looked  first  at  him  and  then  turned 
them  slowly  upon  me,  and  coughed  most  suggest- 
ively. "You  have  done  this?"  Had  she  put 
the  thought  in  blunt  words  she  could  not  have 
expressed  more  plainly  her  conviction  that  I  had 
concocted  the  plan  for  my  own  ends  and  that  Ladis- 
las  must  be  blind  and  mad  to  consent  to  it. 

"  Yes,  I  have ;  Mr.  Anstruther  understands  pre- 
cisely the  relationship  that  exists  between  Volna 
and  me." 

"  You  mean  which  should  but  does  not  exist 
between  you,"  she  corrected,  significantly. 

"  Anstruther  is  my  loyal  friend,  Katinka." 

"  Have  I  expressed  any  doubt  on  that  point?  " 

"  Miss  Drakona  is  prejudiced  against  the  Eng- 
lish, Robert,"  said  Ladislas,  turning  to  me.  He 
flushed  with  vexation  and  appeared  anxious  to 
apologize  for  my  reception. 

"  That  is  surely  my  country's  misfortune,"  said  I. 


202     IN  THE  CAUSE  OF  FREEDOM 

"That  is  insincere;  but  being  English  you  of 
course  cannot  help  it,"  was  the  reply,  very  unpleas- 
antly spoken. 

Ladislas  very  foolishly  took  this  up.  "  An- 
struther  is  my  friend,  Katinka,"  he  said  warmly. 

"  I  don't  see  that  that  affects  the  sincerity  or 
insincerity  of  what  he  says.  Mr.  Anstruther  may 
as  well  know  that  he  has  caused  a  great  deal  of 
trouble  in  our  family,  and  that  so  far  as  my  brother 
and  myself  are  concerned,  we  do  not  thank  him 
for  it." 

"  My  remark  just  now  was  merely  intended  as 
one  of  common  politeness,  madam,"  I  said.  "  I 
am  not  glad  when  I  find  any  one  prejudiced  against 
my  countrymen.  And  I  am  quite  sincere  in  express- 
ing regret  if  I  have  caused  trouble  to  any  of  your 
family." 

Her  large  eyes  were  fixed  coldly  upon  me  while  I 
spoke  and  at  the  end  she  paused  and  said — "  In- 
deed !  "  with  a  most  disconcerting  effect. 

An  awkward  pause  followed,  broken  by  the 
entrance  of  the  brother,  to  whom  she  introduced  me 
in  these  terms.  "  This  is  Mr.  Anstruther,  Paul,  who 
has  come  with  Ladislas  to  induce  Volna  to  run 
away  from  Warsaw  at  a  moment  when  the  flight 
of  any  one  from  this  house  would  be  a  disgrace  to 
the  cause  of  the  Fraternity." 

As  might  be  expected,  the  introduction  did  not 
please  him.  "  I  am  not  aware  that  we  need  the 
interference  of  any  outsiders,  sir." 


TURNING  THE  SCREW         203 

"  That  is  the  word — interference,"  agreed  the 
sister. 

"  It  is  nothing  of  the  sort,  Katinka,"  declared 
Ladislas,  brusquely.  "  I  have  brought  my  friend, 
Paul,  to  help  in  getting  your  mother  and  Volna 
into  some  place  of  safety  until  the  troubles  here  are 
over.  He  knows  all  about  the  Bremenhof  entangle- 
ment and  all  about — er — Volna  and  myself.  He 
acts  entirely  at  my  suggestion  and  on  my  behalf 
as  my  friend  in  this  matter.  You  know  that  if  any 
violence  breaks  out,  the  city  will  be  no  safe  place 
for  Volna  or  her  mother — or  any  woman." 

"  I  am  not  going  to  run  away,"  said  Katinka, 
with  placid  malice.  "  But  of  course  Volna  will  jump 
at  such  a  chance.  Until  this  last  deplorable  affair, 
she  was  accustomed  to  listen  to  our  advice." 

"  I  see  no  necessity  for  it,  Ladislas,"  was  Paul's 
verdict. 

"  We  are  of  no  account,  Paul.  It  is  not  what  we 
think,  of  course." 

"  Where  is  your  mother?  "  asked  Ladislas. 

The  question  was  answered  by  the  entrance  of 
one  of  the  sweetest  old  ladies  I  have  ever  seen.  Just 
Volna,  thirty-five  or  forty  years  older;  but  Volna 
without  the  spirit  and  capacity  and  plucky  resource 
I  had  seen  her  shew. 

"  You  are  Mr.  Anstruther,  I  am  sure,"  she  said, 
as  she  gave  me  her  hand  with  a  sweet  gracious 
smile.  "  I  know  you  by  my  Volna's  description ; 
and  thank  you  from  my  heart  for  all  you  did." 


204    IN  THE  CAUSE  OF  FREEDOM 

The  brother  and  sister  exchanged  looks  and 
shrugs. 

"  I  did  no  more,  madame,  than  any  one  would 
have  done  in  a  similar  case." 

"  You  saved  my  dearest  child,  sir;  and  a  mother's 
heart  knows  how  to  be  grateful." 

"  He  wishes  to  do  more  now,  Madame  Drakona ; 
and  take  you  and  Volna  away  from  the  city  until 
these  troubles  have  blown  over,"  said  Ladislas. 

An  expression  of  perplexity  clouded  her  face  and 
she  glanced  doubtfully  and  nervously  toward  the 
other  two.  "  I  don't  think  I  understand,"  she  said, 

weakly.  "  I  should  like  to  go,  but "  she  stopped, 

and  it  struck  me  she  was  looking  for  Katinka's 
sanction, 

"  These  things  are  to  be  settled  without  regard  to 
what  we  Drakonas  think,"  said  Katinka.  "  Of 
course  I  regard  it  as  indecorous,  impracticable,  un- 
necessary and  cowardly.  But  my  opinion  is  not 
even  asked ; "  and  she  folded  her  hands  and  tapped 
her  foot  and  assumed  Ifoe  air  of  an  injured  martyr. 

"  It  is  not  my  suggestion,  madame,  but  that 
of  my  friend,  Ladislas  here,"  I  said  to  the  old 
lady. 

"  I  am  sure  I  don't  know'  what  to  do.  I  wish 
Volna  were  here.  Could  we  go  ?  "  she  replied ;  and 
then  a  long  and  at  times  bitter  discussion  followed 
in  which  I  took  no  part.  The  dear  old  soul  was 
swayed  first  one  way  by  Ladislas  and  then  another 
by  Katinka.  Paul's  part  was  chiefly  that  of  echo 
to  his  sister,  who,  I  noticed,  first  settled  things  for 


TURNING  THE  SCREW          205 

herself  and  then  put  the  responsibility  upon  him; 
and  held  up  his  opinion  as  final  and  decisive. 

How  long  the  discussion  would  have  lasted  and 
how  many  bitter  insinuations  Katinka  would  have 
thrown  out  about  me  it  is  impossible  to  say;  but 
the  end  came  in  a  fashion  that  was  both  dramatic 
and  startling. 

Paul  was  called  away  to  the  telephone  and  when 
he  returned  to  the  room  he  was  ashen  pale  and 
intensely  agitated. 

"  There  has  been  a  massacre  at  Petersburg.  The 
troops  have  fired  on  the  people  and  thousands  have 
been  killed." 

A  dead  silence  fell  on  us  all,  broken  only  by  a 
groan  of  anguish  from  Ladislas.  We  looked  at  one 
another  in  silent  horror  as  the  realization  of  what 
it  might  mean  to  all  in  Warsaw  began  to  force  itself 
upon  us. 

Even  Katinka  was  awe-stricken  and  aghast. 

We  were  still  under  the  spell  of  this  strained 
silence  when  a  maid  servant  scared  and  white  of 
face  rushed  in. 

"  The  police  are  here,  madame,  and  ask  for  you," 
she  cried. 

An  officer  followed  the  girl,  and  out  in  the  hallway 
I  saw  a  file  of  men  drawn  up. 

"  Madame  Drakona?  "  he  asked. 

"  I  am  Madame  Drakona.  What  do  you  want 
with  me  ?  "  asked  the  old  lady,  rising. 

I  noticed  that  Paul  instead  of  stepping  forward 
to  the  mother's  side  remained  by  his  sister. 


206    IN  THE  CAUSE  OF  FREEDOM 

"  I  have  to  ask  you  to  accompany  me  to  the 
offices  of  the  Department,  madame,"  said  the 
agent. 

"To  ask  me?  I  don't  understand,"  she  replied 
feebly.  "  Katinka,  Paul,  what  can  this  mean  ? 
When  do  you  wish  me  to  go,  sir?  " 

"  My  instructions  are  that  you  accompany  me 
immediately." 

"  But  there  must  be  a  mistake.  I  am  sure  there 
must  be.  I  cannot  go  until  I  have  seen  my  daughter. 
She  is  out.  Can  I  not  wait  until  she  returns  ?  " 

"  Are  you  sure  there  is  no  mistake  ?  "  asked  Paul ; 
as  Katinka  crossed  to  Madame  Drakona. 

"  My  instructions  are  too  precise  to  admit  of 
that." 

"  By  whose  instructions  do  you  act?  "  I  asked. 

"  I  cannot  answer  that,"  was  the  reply. 

"  Do  you  mean  that  any  charge  is  preferred 
against  this  lady?  " 

"  I  have  only  to  do  my  duty,  sir." 

I  turned  to  Paul.  "  Could  you  not  telephone  to 
Colonel  Bremenhof?" 

Katinka  took  this  to  herself.  "  You  hear  your 
orders,  Paul,"  she  snapped.  Even  in  that  moment 
her  spite  predominated. 

"  I  do  not  need  your  advice,  sir,"  he  said ;  and 
this  perfectly  obvious  step  was  not  taken,  for  no 
reason  apparently  except  that  I  had  suggested  it. 

"Can  I  wait  for  my  daughter  to  return,  sir?" 
asked  Madame  Drakona. 

"  Volna  can  do  nothing,"  declared  Katinka. 


TURNING  THE  SCREW         207 

"  I  regret,  madame,  that  I  have  no  power  to 
permit  that." 

"  Can  you  tell  us  nothing  about  the  reasons  for 
this?"  asked  Paul. 

"  Nothing  whatever.  I  know  no  more  than  your- 
self. I  wish  indeed  that  the  unpleasant  duty  had 
been  given  to  some  one  else  to  perform." 

"  I  do  not  blame  you,  sir,"  said  Madame  Drakona, 
very  graciously,  despite  her  agitation.  "  I  will  get 
ready." 

"  I  must  ask  you  not  to  be  longer  than  five 
minutes." 

He  held  the  door  open  for  her  to  leave.  Katinka 
went  with  her  and  at  a  sign  from  the  leader,  one  of 
the  men  followed  them  up  the  stairs  and  remained 
at  the  door  of  the  room  into  which  they  went.  The 
leader  stayed  with  the  rest  in  the  hall. 

"  What  can  this  mean  ?  "  asked  Ladislas,  aghast. 

"  A  good  thing  that  no  one  else  is  on  the  list," 
said  Paul. 

"  You  must  find  that  a  great  consolation,"  I  could 
not  help  saying.  Paul  turned  on  me  angrily,  and 
Ladislas  held  up  his  hand. 

"  It  will  do  no  good  to  quarrel,"  he  said.  "  What 
is  to  be  done?  Do  let  us  try  to  be  practical." 

"  The  man  who  can  tell  you  what  it  means  is 
Bremenhof." 

"  Of  course  you  will  go  with  your  mother, 
Paul  ?  "  said  Ladislas. 

"  I  see  no  object  to  be  gained." 

"  Better  ask  Miss  Drakona,"  I  suggested,  drily. 


208     IN  THE  CAUSE  OF  FREEDOM 

"  Your  tone  is  very  singular,  sir,"  declared  Paul 
angrily. 

"  Far  less  singular  than  your  unreasoning  hos- 
tility to  me,  in  which  you  appear  to  echo  your 
sister's  prejudice." 

"  Robert !  "  protested  Ladislas. 

"  You  are  not  here  by  our  wish,"  cried  Paul. 

Madame  Drakona  came  in  then,  and  I  saw  that 
Katinka  had  made  no  preparations  to  go  with  the 
mother. 

"  Ladislas,  you  and  Mr.  Anstruther  will  stay  to 
see  Volna,  won't  you?"  asked  the  old  lady,  who 
was  much  less  distressed  than  I  had  anticipated. 
"  She  will  be  so  troubled ;  and  she  thinks  so  much 
of  your  advice,  Mr.  Anstruther.  You  will  stay?  " 

"  Certainly  at  your  wish,"  I  agreed. 

"  I  don't  see  that  this  gentleman  can  do  any 
good,"  murmured  the  sister. 

"  We  will  both  stay,  if  possible — but  one  of  us 
certainly,"  said  Ladislas. 

"  Tell  her  you  don't  think  this  is  a  serious  thing ; 
it  can't  be  really;  and  I  daresay  I  shall  be  back 
again  almost  before  she  is  home." 

"  I  will  tell  her,"  replied  my  friend. 

She  kissed  Paul  and  Katinka — both  of  whom 
were  as  unmoved  as  though  she  had  been  going  for 
an  afternoon  drive — and  then  shook  hands  with 
us.  "  Volna  will  rely  on  you,  I  know,  Mr.  Anstru- 
ther. Now,  sir,  I  am  ready.  Be  sure  and  make 
Volna  understand  I  am  not  in  the  least  frightened, 
Ladislas." 


TURNING  THE  SCREW          209 

That  was  her  last  word  spoken  with  a  brave  smile 
as  she  drove  away. 

As  soon  as  we  re-entered  the  house  Katinka 
opened  fire  at  me.  "  I  think  we  can  do  what  has  to 
be  done  alone,  Paul." 

"  Madame  Drakona  asked  us  to  remain,  Katinka," 
said  Ladislas. 

"  I  wish  you  could  believe,  madam,  that  I  have 
no  desire  except  for  the  good  of  you  all,"  I  put  in. 

She  fixed  her  eyes  upon  me  and  replied  slowly, 
"  I  wish  I  could,  sir;  but  you  have  influenced  my 
sister  so  much  against  us  that  I  find  it  impossible." 

"  How  can  you  think  of  such  pettiness,  Katinka, 
in  face  of  that  awful  news  from  Petersburg,"  cried 
Ladislas.  "  Great  God,  it  passes  my  comprehen- 
sion." 

"Are  you  going,  sir?"  asked  Paul. 

"  No.  I  am  not.  I  promised  Madame  Drakona 
to  remain  until  her  daughter  returned,  and  shall 
do  so." 

"  Of  course,"  agreed  Ladislas,  pausing  a  second 
as  he  strode  up  and  down  the  room  in  great  distress. 
His  excitement  mounted  fast,  and  his  fears  of  com- 
ing trouble  in  the  city,  caused  by  the  ill  news  from 
St.  Petersburg  and  brought  close  home  by  the  arrest 
of  Madame  Drakona,  oppressed  him  till  the  burden 
became  almost  unbearable. 

An  hour  and  more  passed  in  this  way.  Now  and 
again  he  would  break  into  fitful  heated  discussion 
with  Paul  and  his  sister;  sometimes  he  turned  to 
me  with  feverish  speculations  about  what  would 


210    IN  THE  CAUSE  OF  FREEDOM 

happen;  anything  in  the  effort  to  relieve  the  weight 
of  his  trouble-laden  thoughts. 

Two  or  three  times  the  telephone  bell  summoned 
Paul;  and  each  time  he  returned  the  three  would 
hold  whispered  counsel  together;  to  end  in  the 
same  way,  by  Ladislas  resuming  his  anxious  pacing 
of  the  room  from  end  to  end. 

At  last  some  message  more  disturbing  than  the 
rest  came. 

"  Paul  and  I  must  go.  I  dare  not  stay,"  he 
declared.  "  You  will  do  what  must  be  done  here, 
Robert.  They  are  waiting  for  us,  and  God  knows 
what  may  happen  if  we  do  not  go ; "  and  paying  no 
heed  to  my  protests,  scarcely  hearing  them,  indeed, 
he  and  Paul  hurried  away. 

Katinka  and  I  sat  on  in  grim  silence. 

I  had  caught  some  of  the  infection  of  Ladislas' 
alarm  at  coming  trouble;  and  my  one  concern  now 
was  for  Volna's  safety.  Even  the  embarrassment 
at  the  thought  of  meeting  her  again  was  dominated 
by  my  fear  for  her;  and  I  waited  a  prey  to  very 
gloomy  doubt  and  anxiety. 

She  came  in  not  knowing  that  I  was  there.  She 
saw  only  Katinka  as  she  entered  with  the  question, 
"Where  is  mother?" 

Then  she  saw  me  and  started  back  in  sheer  aston- 
ishment. Her  eyes  lighted,  she  paled  slightly  and 
then  the  colour  rushed  to  her  face  and  with  both 
hands  outstretched  she  came  to  me  as  a  week  before 
at  the  priest's  house  in  Kervatje.  "  Is  it  really 
you?" 


TURNING  THE  SCREW         211 

I  took  her  hands.    "  It  is  really  I." 

Then  Katinka  got  up  and  coughed.  "  Of  course 
I  am  not  surprised;  but  it  is  none  the  less  scanda- 
lous, sir,  considering  Volna's  mother  has  just  been 
taken  to  prison." 

The  piteous  look  of  pain  and  alarm  on  Volna's 
face  as  her  hands  fell  from  mine  made  me  wish  for 
the  moment  that  Katinka  had  been  a  man.  I  could 
then  have  told  her  plainly  some  of  the  things  I 
thought  about  her. 


CHAPTER    XX 

DEFIANCE 

"/"T"VO  prison?     Do  you  mean  that,  Katinka?" 

•»•      asked  Volna ;  her  tone  low  and  tense. 

"  Do  I  usually  say  one  thing  and  mean  another?  " 

Volna  turned  swiftly  to  me  as  if  seeking  a  contra- 
diction. 

"  Where  is  my  mother,  Mr.  Anstruther?  " 

Katinka's  large  eyes  flashed  angrily.  "  Do  you 
wish  to  insult  me,  Volna,  by  appealing  from  me  to 
this  new  English  friend  of  yours  ?  " 

Volna  ignored  her  save  for  a  gesture.  "  Mr. 
Anstruther?" 

"  I  stayed  at  your  mother's  request  to  assure  you 
that  she  does  not  think  it  serious." 

"  My  dear,  dearest  mother !  "  A  piteous  cry  of 
sorrow  and  pity;  and  then  a  change  to  indignant 
reproach.  "  This  is  your  doing,  Katinka,  yours 
and  Paul's  and  uncle's;  with  your  miserable  plots 
and  schemings  and  intrigues!  And  having  done 
the  mischief,  you  were  such  a  coward  as  to  leave 
her  to  face  the  consequences  alone.  Shame  on  you ! 
If  I  had  no  other  cause  to  hate  your  conspiracy, 
your  cowardice  in  this  would  make  me  do  it." 

"  Don't  be  theatrical,  Volna." 

"  If  it  comforts  you  to  cover  your  cowardice  with 


DEFIANCE  213 

a  sneer,  do  so.  I  do  not  envy  you  the  consola- 
tion. I  should  have  thought  even  you  would  be 
ashamed." 

"  I  shall  not  remain  to  be  insulted  before  a 
stranger." 

"  When  the  truth  bites  like  an  insult,  I  can  under- 
stand how  it  hurts  to  hear  it.  I  shall  go  to  my 
mother,  of  course.  You  will  help  me  find  her,  won't 
you,  Mr.  Anstruther?  " 

"  Of  course  he  will — for  Ladislas'  sake,"  said 
Katinka,  turning  to  deliver  her  last  shot  as  she 
went  out. 

"  What  does  she  mean  ? "  asked  Volna  with  a 
start.  "  She  has  so  many  barbs  in  her  speeches. 
But  it  doesn't  matter — nothing  matters  until  we 
find  mother.  Where  do  you  think  they  have  taken 
her?  How  can  we  find  out?  Oh,  I  feel  half  dis- 
tracted." 

"  I  think  Colonel  Bremenhof  holds  the  key,"  I 
said,  very  quietly. 

She  was  bending  over  a  small  table  and  looked  up 
instantly  and  sharply,  hesitated  and  then  replied: 
"  This  must  be  explained.  They  have  told  you — 
about  him?  " 

There  was  just  a  suggestion  of  a  challenge  in  her 
tone;  but  the  question  gave  me  an  opening  to  make 
the  explanation  of  my  position,  which  had  to  be 
made  somehow. 

"  Oh,  yes.    Ladislas  told  me." 

"Ladislas?"  Surprise  and  a  dash  of  indigna- 
tion in  the  tone. 


214     IN  THE  CAUSE  OF  FREEDOM 

"  No  one  could  have  a  truer  friend  than  you  have 
in  Ladislas." 

To  my  consternation  she  broke  in  with  a  laugh: 
"  Why  do  you  tell  me  this  ?  " 

"  He  is  my  friend  also,  one  of  my  closest  friends. 
I  am  under  a  deep  obligation  to  him.  He  saved  my 
life — I  think  I  told  you — at  the  peril  of  his  own; 
and  to-day  he  told  me  not  only  about  Colonel 
Bremenhof  but — but  everything." 

"  Everything  ?  "  There  was  no  smile  now,  but 
just  a  steady  look. 

"  You  are  making  me  speak  rather  bluntly.  He 
told  me,  I  mean,  how  deeply  he  cared  for  you  and 
he  asked  me  to  remain  in  Warsaw  and  come  here  to 
try  and  be  of  some  help  to  you — as  your  sister  said 
— for  his  sake." 

A  pause  of  considerable  embarrassment  for  me 
followed.  Then  she  said  merely :  "  Well  ?  " 

I  felt  very  awkward.  "I  think  that's  all,"  I 
stumbled. 

"  I  suppose  I  ought  to  be  very  much  obliged  to 
Ladislas,"  she  said,  and  dropped  her  gaze  upon  the 
table. 

"  His  idea  was  that  I  could  have  helped  your 
mother  and  you  to  get  away  from  the  city." 

"On  your  way  to  England,  of  course?"  she 
asked,  without  looking  up. 

I  hesitated.  "  Yes,  on  my  way  to  England. 
Father  Ambrose  urged  me  to  go  to  England,  you 
know,  as  soon  as  possible;  and  General  Eckerstein 
also." 


DEFIANCE  215 

"  I  hope  you  will  have  a  pleasant  journey.  War- 
saw it  just  now  a  very  questionable  pleasure  resort." 

"  Is  that  my  dismissal  ?  " 

She  looked  up  and  dropped  the  formal  tone  which 
had  hurt  me.  "  I  thought  you  wished  to  go." 

"  That  is  harder  still,"  I  said. 

She  gave  me  her  hand  impulsively.  "  But  you 
don't  really  think  I  wish  to  say  things  that  hurt  you. 
After  what  you  have  done  for  me  and  what  you 
have  had  to  suffer?  Don't  go  away  with  that 
thought,  please." 

"  I  don't  wish  to  go  away  at  all,  until  I  have 
been  of  some  help  to  you.  I  wish  only  to  make 
things  plain." 

"  Oh,  then  we  are  not  saying  good-bye,"  she 
explained,  drawing  her  hand  from  mine  again,  and 
smiling;  only  to  change  the  next  moment  to  ear- 
nestness. "  Why  surely  you  know  there  is  no  one 
whose  help  I  would  rather  have  than  yours." 

"  For  Ladislas'  sake,"  I  said. 

Her  eyes  took  a  half  wistful,  half  smiling  expres- 
sion. "  No  matter  for  whose  sake.  We  seem  fated 
to  be  always  on  a  sort  of  half  false  footing  to  one 
another.  Strangers  one  hour,  English  the  next, 
then  fellow  conspirators,  and  then  after  that  brother 

and  sister,  and  now "  She  paused,  as  if  at  a 

loss  for  a  word. 

"  Friends,"  I  prompted. 

"  Oh,  yes,  always  friends,  I  trust." 

"  Then  let  us  try  to  think  what  can  be  done  for 
your  mother." 


216    IN  THE  CAUSE  OF  FREEDOM 

"  My  dear  mother.  I  must  see  Colonel  Bremen- 
hof,  of  course.  Even  with  you  to  help  me,  the  way 
is  very  hard  to  see." 

"  Shall  I  go  to  him  with  you?  " 

At  that  moment  the  door  was  opened  quickly 
and  Colonel  Bremenhof  entered. 

He  was  intensely  surprised  to  find  me  in  the  room 
and  I  think  quite  as  angry.  It  was  Katinka's  doing. 

"  Your  sister  told  me  I  should  find  you  here, 
Volna,"  he  said ;  "  but  not  that  any  one  was  with 
you.  Least  of  all,  Mr.  Anstruther." 

Volna  drew  herself  up  and  without  taking  his 
outstretched  hand  asked :  "  Where  is  my  mother, 
Colonel  Bremenhof?" 

"  I  have  come  to  speak  to  you  about  her." 

"  They  tell  me  you  have  had  her  arrested.  Can 
that  be  true?" 

"  I  wish  to  see  you  alone." 

"  Until  my  question  is  answered,  I  will  not  speak 
to  you  alone ;  and  if  her  arrest  is  your  work,  I  will 
never  see  you  again." 

"  There  are  many  things  to  explain.  Will  you  be 
good  enough  to  leave  the  room,  sir?  " 

"Will  you  please  stay,  Mr.  Anstruther?"  said 
Volna  quickly. 

"  Volna,  I  must  see  you  in  private.  For  your 
mother's  sake.  Now,  sir." 

"  If  Mr.  Anstruther  goes,  I  go,"  she  declared. 

His  face  grew  as  dark  as  a  thundercloud.  "  You 
forget  yourself,  Volna.  Does  this  gentleman 
know " 


DEFIANCE  217 

"  That  we  have  been  betrothed  ?  Oh,  yes.  It 
was  Mr.  Anstruther  who  saved  me  from  the  police 
at  Bratinsk  and  afterwards.  He  naturally  has  my 
entire  confidence.  I  know  him  for  a  friend,  and 
he  was  about  to  start  with  me  now  to  see  you  and 
get  the  truth  from  you  about  my  mother's  arrest." 

"  You  are  making  a  very  unfortunate  admission 
which  may  very  greatly  affect  him." 

I  couldn't  stand  this.  "  Be  good  enough  to  leave 
me  out  of  the  question  for  the  moment,  Colonel 
Bremenhof,"  I  said.  "  I  think  I  have  shewn  you 
that  I  know  how  to  take  care  of  myself." 

"  Have  you  dared  to  arrest  my  mother?"  asked 
Volna  again. 

"  Madame  Drakona  is  not  arrested  at  all.  Those 
who  are  concerned  in  the  matter  of  this  national 
trouble  wish  to  ask  her  certain  questions  which  she 
will,  I  hope,  be  able  to  answer  quite  satisfactorily." 

"  What  do  you  mean  by  you  '  hope '  she  will  be 
able  to  answer?"  was  Volna's  prompt  retort.  "I 
hope  that  even  you  would  not  stoop  to  the  baseness 
I  can  read  under  your  words." 

"  In  the  absence  of  certain  evidence,  Madame 
Drakona  has  nothing  to  fear.  That  is  all,"  he  said, 
doggedly.  "  Let  us  speak  of  this  alone,  Volna." 

"  No !  "  she  cried,  with  indignant  emphasis.  "  Are 
you  so  ashamed  of  your  act  that  you  dare  not  dis- 
cuss it?  I  know  what  you  mean  by  what  you  call 
the  evidence  against  my  mother.  You  used  your 
opportunities  here  and  set  your  spies  to  scrape  it 
together  and  you  keep  it  in  your  own  hands,  holding 


218    IN  THE  CAUSE  OF  FREEDOM 

it  over  me  to  force  me  to  comply  with  your  wishes. 
You  are  that  kind  of  man.  Now,  what  is  your 
price  ?  " 

It  was  as  easy  to  see  that  she  was  right  as  that 
her  scorn  and  contempt  struck  right  home.  He 
changed  colour,  twisted  his  beard  nervously,  glanced 
at  her,  and  from  her  to  me ;  and  stood  baffled,  dis- 
concerted, scowling  and  silent. 

"  What  is  your  price  ?  Are  you  ashamed  to 
name  it  before  Mr.  Anstruther?"  she  went  on,  in 
the  same  bitter  tone.  "  On  what  terms  will  you 
consent  to  put  that  evidence  in  my  hands?  Can 
you  do  it?  If  I  should  consent  to  pay  the  price, 
what  guarantee  should  I  have,  not  only  that  you 
could,  but  that  you  would,  keep  any  bargain  you 
made?  I  should  surely  need  some.  I  am  ready  to 
save  my  mother.  Now,  what  is  your  price  ?  "  Her 
face  flushed,  her  eyes  shining,  her  manner  eloquent 
of  her  contempt  for  him,  she  presented  a  magnifi- 
cent picture  of  angry  scorn. 

He  cut  a  pitiful  figure  in  contrast,  as  he  winced 
and  cowered  under  her  words  as  under  the  lash  of 
a  knout.  He  cared  for  her.  There  was  no  doubt  of 
that.  But  it  was  this  very  love  which  made  him 
suffer  then.  Hard,  callous,  cruel,  indifferent  to  the 
suffering  he  made  others  endure,  he  cringed  now 
under  the  mental  torture  she  inflicted. 

It  galled  him  the  more  that  of  all  men  I  should 
be  the  witness  of  his  humiliation;  nor  was  I  at  any 
pains  to  conceal  my  pleasure  at  his  discomfiture. 

When  she  spoke  next,  her  tone  was  cold,  quiet, 


DEFIANCE  219 

and  biting.  "You  are  still  ashamed  to  name  it? 
You  would  do  the  thing  itself,  mean  and  dastardly 
as  it  is ;  but  the  mention  of  it  harrows  your  delicate 
sense  of  honour.  You  are  a  Russian,  and  worthy 
of  your  country.  You  have  thrown  my  mother  into 
prison  in  order  to  force  me  to  marry  you  at  once. 
That  is  the  price  you  will  not  name  aloud ;  and  that 
is  a  price  I  will  not  pay." 

The  frown  on  his  face  deepened  ominously  as  he 
muttered.  "  You  are  betrothed  to  me." 

"  The  one  thing  in  my  life  I  am  ashamed  of.  It 
was  a  sham  betrothal,  and  you  are  welcome  to  the 
truth  now.  I  was  at  least  honest  with  you.  I  told 
you  there  was  on  my  side  none  of  that  feeling  which 
a  girl  should  have  at  such  a  time,  and  that  I  was 
heart  free.  What  I  did  not  tell  you  was  that  the 
betrothal  was  intended  to  save  those  about  me  from 
danger  at  your  hand.  It  served  its  purpose  until 
to-day,  when  you  have  struck  this  coward's  blow. 
Now,  thank  God,  the  truth  can  be  told." 

Chancing  to  glance  into  a  mirror  at  this  moment, 
I  caught  sight  of  Katinka  listening,  white-faced,  in 
the  doorway.  At  this  avowal  of  Volna's  she  threw 
up  her  hands  and  hurried  away. 

"You  admit  you  tricked  me?"  said  Bremenhof 
between  his  clenched  teeth. 

"  Call  it  what  you  will,  I  have  told  you  now  the 
truth." 

"  You  understand  what  this  means  ?  " 

"  I  am  not  afraid  of  you.  Say  what  you  will  and 
do  what  you  will.  I  will  save  my  mother  in  spite 


220    IN  THE  CAUSE  OF  FREEDOM 

of  you.  Unless  she  is  set  free,  your  part  in  this 
shall  be  made  known.  How  you  have  constantly 
held  over  me  the  threat  of  my  mother's  arrest ;  how 
at  my  instance  you  have  failed  to  do  your  duty — 
if  it  was  your  duty  to  arrest  me — and  how  you  have 
abused  your  official  power  to  serve  your  personal 
ends  with  me.  You  have  done  your  worst  now; 
and  have  failed.  And  if  justice  is  not  really  dead 
in  Russia  and  we  Poles  are  aught  but  your  serfs,  I 
will  see  that  if  we  are  to  be  punished,  you,  our 
accomplice,  shall  not  escape  your  share  of  that 
punishment." 

"  My  God ! "  he  exclaimed  under  his  breath, 
abashed  for  the  moment  by  her  magnificent  bold- 
ness. Then  anger  rallied  him.  "  We  will  see,"  he 
muttered,  and  turned  to  leave. 

I  stepped  between  him  and  the  door. 

"  Let  him  go,  if  you  please,  Mr.  Anstruther.  Let 
him  do  what  he  dare." 

Without  even  another  glance  at  her  he  went  out. 

"  Thank  Heaven  the  truth  is  out  at  last,"  she 
said. 

"  I  wonder  you  had  the  courage.  What  will  he 
do?" 

Before  she  answered,  Katinka  came  in  dressed 
for  the  street  and  looking  very  angry  and  alarmed. 

"You  are  mad,  Volna.  I  heard  you.  At  such 
a  time  as  this  to  speak  so.  You  have  placed  us  all 
in  peril.  You  should  be  ashamed.  Much  you  care 
for  your  mother !  " 

"  I  don't  think  you  can  even  guess  how  much, 


DEFIANCE  221 

Katinka,"  answered  Volna  very  quietly.  "  Where 
are  you  going?  " 

"  Anywhere  rather  than  stay  here  after  that. 
You  had  no  thought  for  Paul  or  for  me,  of  course. 
We  are  not  safe  another  minute.  Paul  is  with 
Ladislas;  I  have  warned  him  by  the  telephone.  I 
congratulate  you,  Mr.  Anstruther,  upon  the  disas- 
trous result  of  your  interference." 

"  You  must  not  say  that,  Katinka.  This  is  not 
Mr.  Anstruther's  doing ;  it  is  my  own  act,  and  mine 
only.  But  by  all  means  save  yourself." 

"  The  police  may  be  here  at  any  moment  to  arrest 
us  all." 

"  Then  why  waste  time  in  staying  to  reproach 
me?" 

Katinka's  great  eyes  flashed  angrily.  "  Have 
you  taken  leave  of  your  senses  ?  "  she  cried.  "  You 
have  never  been  like  this  before.  It  is  sheer  folly 
and  madness." 

"  I  told  him  no  more  than  the  truth,"  replied 
Volna ;  adding  after  a  slight  pause :  "  One  of  the 
really  delicious  moments  of  my  life." 

"  You  purchased  your  pleasure  with  the  safety 
of  us  all.  Perhaps  that  will  add  to  your  enjoy- 
ment," retorted  Katinka,  as  she  hurried  out  of  the 
room. 

"  Katinka  is  eager  for  national  independence,  but 
she  does  not  like  it  in  the  family." 

"  What  do  you  suppose  Bremenhof  will  do  ?  "  I 
asked. 

"  I  don't  feel  as  if  I  cared  at  this  moment.    I  am 


222    IN  THE  CAUSE  OF  FREEDOM 

just  revelling  in  my  emancipation."  She  threw 
herself  into  a  chair  and  leaned  back  clasping  her 
hands  behind  her  head.  "  I  suppose  I  did  not 
know  myself;  certainly  I  never  realized  before  what 
a  capacity  for  deep  feeling  I  have.  I  seem  to  be 
waking  up.  Oh,  how  I  hate  that  man!  " 

"  I  think  we  should  be  doing  something  practi- 
cal," I  suggested. 

She  sighed  impatiently  and  sat  up.  "  You  are 
shocked  because  I  tell  you  I  can  hate  ?  " 

"  I  mean  merely  that  he  may  send  to  arrest  you ; 
and  you  should  be  prepared." 

She  rose.  "If  he  does  I  must  fall  back  upon 
Ladislas." 

"Ladislas?" 

She  crossed  to  the  door,  turned,  and  with  a  slow 
smile  I  had  learnt  to  know  well,  answered :  "  Did 
he  not  get  a  promise  from  you  to  help  me?  I 
should  never  have  dared  to  do  what  I  have  done 
to-day  if  you  had  not  been  here.  But  influence  like 
that  has  its  responsibilities,  also,  you  know,  and 

you "  The  sentence  was  interrupted  by  the 

servant  who  rushed  in  then. 

"  The  police  are  here  again,  Miss." 

The  loud  summons  at  the  house  door  confirmed 
her  ill  news.  Bremenhof  had  not  left  us  long  in 
doubt  as  to  what  he  meant  to  do. 


CHAPTER    XXI 

A  BLANK  OUTLOOK 

T7OLNA  appealed  to  me.  "  What  shall  I  do?  " 
*  "  Let  us  get  away  if  we  can,"  I  said. 

"  Come  then.  We  can  leave  the  house  by  the 
garden.  But  suppose  they  do  not  seek  me?  " 

"  We  can't  risk  waiting  to  find  out  If  not,  your 
maid  can  call  to  us." 

We  hurried  to  the  door  leading"  to  the  garden, 
and  as  we  closed  it  the  servant  admitted  the  police 
at  the  front. 

It  was  quite  dusk  and  the  heavy  snow  covered 
the  sound  of  our  footsteps  as  we  hurried  through 
the  shrubbery  to  a  small  door  in  the  high  wall 
which  bounded  the  garden  at  the  end. 

As  we  paused  a  few  seconds  on  the  chance  of  the 
servant  recalling  us,  I  whispered  a  warning  to 
Volna.  "  There  may  be  someone  posted  on  the 
outside.  Let  me  open  it." 

She  gave  me  the  key  and  I  turned  it  as  softly  as 
the  stiff  lock  would  permit.  I  was  opening  the  door 
gently  when  it  was  pushed  quickly,  and  a  man 
entered  and  seized  Volna  by  the  arm. 

"  We  thought  you  might " 

Before  he  could  finish  the  sentence  I  grabbed  him 
by  the  throat.  Fortunately  for  us  he  was  a  small 
man  and  like  a  child  in  my  hands.  I  gave  him  a 

223 


224    IN  THE  CAUSE  OF  FREEDOM 

pretty  rough  shaking  and  then  pitched  him  back- 
wards into  the  middle  of  a  wide  laurel  bush  where 
he  lay  kicking  helplessly,  struggling  to  extricate 
himself,  and  gasping  for  breath  to  call  for  help. 

Before  he  succeeded  in  getting  out  his  first  loud 
cry  we  were  out  of  the  garden,  had  locked  the  door 
upon  him,  and  turned  the  first  corner.  We  had  to 
run  for  it,  and  by  good  luck  there  was  no  one  about 
to  notice  us  in  the  first  two  or  three  streets. 

When  we  reached  the  main  thoroughfare  we 
slackened  our  pace  to  a  quick  walk  until  we  got  a 
sleigh  which  carried  us  out  of  the  chance  of  imme- 
diate pursuit. 

"  Almost  like  a  moment  of  Bratinsk,"  said  Volna. 

"  I  wish  we  were  there,  or  anywhere  out  of  the 
city.  We'll  change  sleighs  in  a  minute."  I  stopped 
the  sleigh  soon  afterwards  at  the  door  of  an  hotel, 
and  held  the  porter  in  talk  while  the  driver  whipped 
up  and  left.  Then  we  hurried  away  in  the  opposite 
direction. 

"  Now  where  are  we  going?  "  asked  Volna. 

"  An  old  nurse  of  mine  lives  in  the  Place  of  St. 
John,  No.  17;  I  shall  be  safe  there  until  we  decide 
what  to  do." 

"Is  it  far?" 

"  Not  too  far  to  walk  if  you  think  that  safer." 

"  I  do,  because  a  sleigh  driver  can  always  be 
found  and  questioned." 

During  the  walk,  evidence  of  the  popular  unrest 
was  to  be  seen  on  all  sides. 

"  The  city  is  not  like  itself,"  said  Volna,  as  we 


A  BLANK  OUTLOOK  225 

crossed  the  great  Square  of  St.  Paul.  The  place 
was  half  filled  with  groups  of  workmen  engaged  in 
sullen  discussion,  while  numbers  of  police  stood  at 
hand  watching.  "  Sunday  evening  usually  finds 
every  one  holiday  making." 

We  paused  a  moment  near  one  or  two  of  the 
groups.  Everywhere  the  subject  of  talk  was  the 
same — the  massacre  at  St.  Petersburg. 

Whenever  we  paused  near  any  group  I  noticed 
one  or  two  men  leave  it,  saunter  up  to  us  and  scru- 
tinize us  curiously.  Whether  they  were  police  or 
workmen  it  was  impossible  to  say. 

"You  are  interested  in  these  matters,  friend?" 
asked  one  of  them. 

"  All  are  interested,"  I  answered. 

"  You  were  listening?"  he  returned  suspiciously. 

"  Yes,  I  was  listening." 

"  There  are  only  two  kinds  of  listeners  in  War- 
saw, sympathizers  and  spies.  Those  who  sym- 
pathize draw  close;  those  who  spy  had  better  move 
away." 

"I  am  a  foreigner." 

"  There  are  spies  of  all  nationalities." 

"I  am  no  spy,  but  I'll  take  your  advice;"  and 
we  moved  on. 

Almost  every  street  corner  had  its  cluster  of  men, 
and  always  the  talk  was  the  same.  If  the  workmen 
of  St.  Petersburg  were  massacred,  what  could  those 
of  Warsaw  expect?  Were  they  to  go  on  suffering 
like  sheep?  Which  was  the  better,  to  be  slaves  for 
the  master's  gain,  or  to  be  men  and  resist  ? 


226    IN  THE  CAUSE  OF  FREEDOM 

Two  or  three  times  the  anger  of  the  strikers  took 
violent  form.  Men  were  caught  making  notes  of 
the  names  of  the  talkers,  the  cry  of  "  spy "  was 
raised,  and  in  a  moment  fifty  hands  were  out- 
stretched, fifty  oaths  leapt  from  wrathful  lips,  and 
the  victims  were  hustled,  battered,  kicked,  and  sent 
sprawling  into  the  gutters. 

"  And  Ladislas  believed  there  would  be  no  vio- 
lence," I  said  to  Volna  as  we  hurried  on  after  one  of 
these  episodes. 

"  Poor  Ladislas !  But  I  am  frightened  for  what 
will  happen  to-morrow.  I  have  never  seen  this 
temper  among  the  people  before.  How  will  it  affect 
my  mother's  case?  If  there  should  be  any  popular 
outbreak,  the  difficulty  of  helping  her  will  be  in- 
finitely increased.  The  friends  on  whom  we  could 
rely  at  any  other  time  will  then  be  helpless.  They 
are  all  Poles." 

"  There  .is  another  way  to  look  at  it.  Bremen- 
hof's  powers  will  be  much  greater  and  he  can  more 
safely  hold  back  the  evidence  against  your  mother 
which  you  said  he  had.  Is  he  really  such  a  brute?  " 

"  He  boasted  to  me  one  day,  when  my  mother 
and  I  were  at  his  house,  that  he  had  it  in  a  private 
safe,  and  that  it  rested  with  me  whether  it  should 
ever  leave  there." 

"  Umph !  A  courteous  gentleman.  Will  he  use 
it  now  ?  " 

"  If  I  know  him,  he  will  not  until  he  has  given 
up  every  hope  of  carrying  his  purpose  with  me." 


A  BLANK  OUTLOOK  227 

"  Even  after  your  splendid  defiance  of  him  to- 
day?" 

She  smiled.  "  He  has  that  quality  which  so  often 
wins — patience.  I  believe  he  suspected  from  the 
first  what  the  object  of  the  betrothal  was,  and  just 
set  himself  to  rivet  the  chain  until  I  should  not  dare 
to  break  it.  While  I  was  away  he  threatened  my 
mother  that  if  I  did  not  return  at  once,  her  arrest 
would  be  used  to  force  me  back." 

"  Well,  look  at  it  as  we  will,  he  has  us  tied  up  in 
a  tangle  bad  enough  to  satisfy  even  him." 

"  It  is  not  so  bad  as  if  his  men  had  caught  me 
just  now.  He  would  have  been  much  nearer  his 
end.  So  long  as  I  am  free,  I  can  fight  him ;  but  he 
knows  what  his  power  would  be  if  he  had  both 
mother  and  me  in  his  hands." 

It  was  in  truth  a  devil  of  a  tangle.  With  Madame 
Drakona  in  prison,  Bremenhof  had  his  hand  on 
the  lever  which  controlled  everything;  and  to  get 
her  out  seemed  hopeless. 

"This  is  the  Place  of  St.  John,"  said  Volna, 
presently.  "  That  is  the  house,  No.  17,  across  there. 
I  will  leave  you  here.  What  will  you  do  ?  " 

"  I  shall  go  to  Ladislas  and  let  him  know  what 
has  occurred." 

"  Poor  Ladislas!  What  do  you  think  he  can  do? 
You  will  find  him  with  his  hands  full  of  more 
serious  matters  than  even  my  troubles." 

"  Nothing  could  be  more  serious  in  his  eyes,"  I 
said.  "And  you,  what  will  you  do?" 


228    IN  THE  CAUSE  OF  FREEDOM 

"  Wait  until  to-morrow,  that  is  all."  She  spoke 
with  a  rather  weary  smile. 

"  That  is  not  the  courage  that  defied  Bremenhof. 
The  people  may  win  in  the  impending  struggle,  and 
then  everything  will  be  changed." 

"  They  may,"  she  agreed,  but  with  no  hope  in 
her  voice. 

"You  don't  believe  it?" 

"  There  is  always  hope." 

"  We  may  find  another  way.  Nothing  is  impos- 
sible for  such  courage  as  you  have  shewn." 

"  There  is  always  one  way  open  to  me  in  the 
last  resort." 

"You  mean?" 

She  looked  up  steadily.  "  What  should  I  mean 
but  surrender?  " 

"  Not  that,  for  God's  sake,"  I  cried  impetuously. 

"  Don't  think  me  a  coward  for  naming  it.  It 
would  take  all  the  courage  you  think  I  have.  But 
he  knows  how  I  love  my  mother,  and  that  it  would 
kill  her  to  remain  in  prison.  To-morrow  she  must 
be  freed  at  any  cost." 

"  No,  no,  don't  think  of  that.  Think  of  your  own 
brave  words  in  defying  him." 

She  smiled  again.  "That  is  just  it.  Brave 
words,  nothing  else.  He  knows  they  were  but 
words." 

"  I'll  find  some  other  way.  You'll  think  differ- 
ently to-morrow." 

She  paused  and  then  gave  me  her  hand.  "  I'll 
try.  If  any  one  can  give  me  confidence  you  can." 


A  BLANK  OUTLOOK  229 

"  How  shall  I  see  you  to-morrow  ?  Is  there  any 
risk  in  my  coming  to  the  house?  " 

"  It  will  be  better  not.  One  never  knows.  I  will 
be  in  the  Square  of  St.  Paul — where  the  strikers' 
meetings  were — at  eleven  o'clock.  But,  remember, 
my  mother  must  be  freed  to-morrow  at  any  cost." 

"  Then  I  know  what  I  have  to  do,"  I  answered, 
confidently,  "  and  I  repeat,  I'll  do  it  somehow." 

As  I  turned  away,  having  watched  her  enter  the 
house  she  had  indicated,  I  could  not  resist  applying 
the  phrase — "  brave  words,  nothing  else  " — to  my 
own  resolve  to  find  some  means  of  bringing  Bre- 
menhof  to  terms.  I  could  see  no  way  to  make  it 
good,  to  make  it  more  than  mere  words  intended 
to  encourage  her.  It  looked  a  sheer  impossibility. 

Short  of  calling  the  man  and  shooting  him  for 
the  old  insult  to  me  or  forcing  a  fresh  quarrel  upon 
him,  there  was  nothing  I  could  do,  and  the  utter 
futility  of  any  such  crude  plan  was  too  patent  to 
do  more  than  increase  my  impotent  anger. 

I  was  hurrying  to  Ladislas'  house  when  I  remem- 
bered that  I  had  had  no  food  for  some  hours  and 
had  nowhere  to  sleep.  So  I  went  to  the  big  hotel, 
the  Vladimir,  and  had  dinner  and  engaged  a  room, 
lest  Ladislas  should  deem  it  imprudent  for  me  to 
stay  with  him. 

As  I  sat  over  my  dinner  brooding,  it  appeared  to 
me  that  the  only  hope  for  Volna  lay  in  the  success 
of  the  popular  movement;  and  after  dinner  I  lin- 
gered some  time  in  the  streets,  intensely  interested 
in  the  progress  of  affairs. 


230    IN  THE  CAUSE  OF  FREEDOM 

The  excitement  and  general  unrest  were  certainly 
increasing  fast,  and  the  temper  of  the  people  was 
rising.  The  groups  of  strikers  were  growing 
larger.  In  some  places  crowds  had  gathered,  and 
were  openly  cheering  speakers  who  no  longer  took 
pains  to  lower  their  voices.  In  many  places  the 
agents  of  the  Fraternity  were  busily  distributing 
leaflets  embodying  the  workers'  demands.  There 
were  many  proofs  of  this  growing  confidence. 

More  than  once  the  police  and  the  people  came 
into  open  conflict;  and  each  time  the  police  were 
worsted,  to  the  great  delight  and  manifest  encour- 
agement of  the  crowd.  Then,  as  men  moved  from 
one  spot  to  another,  the  idea  of  a  procession  was 
generated;  bands  were  formed  and  united,  and 
began  to  parade  the  streets.  And  in  all  places  at 
all  times  men  appeared  ready  primed  to  take  the 
lead,  all  acting  together  as  though  the  whole  work 
had  been  carefully  prepared  and  rehearsed. 

A  blind  man  could  have  seen  that  grave  trouble 
was  in  the  making,  and  I  saw  abundant  proof  that, 
although  such  leaders  as  my  friend  might  counsel 
peaceful  methods,  the  populace  were  in  that  ugly 
mood  which  would  lead  them  to  laugh  at  peaceful 
counsels  and  to  rely  on  force  and  violence. 

It  was  a  night  of  such  crisis  for  the  city  that  I 
was  surprised  to  find  the  authorities  apparently 
heedless  of  the  rapidly  growing  peril. 

At  Ladislas'  house,  however,  I  had  a  glimpse  of 
their  plans.  There  were  lights  in  some  of  the  win- 
dows and  everything-  was  apparently  as  usual.  A 


A  BLANK  OUTLOOK  231 

servant  admitted  me  and  when  I  asked  for  my 
friend,  he  ushered  me  into  the  library,  saying  his 
master  would  come  to  me  directly. 

Instead  of  Ladislas,  however,  a  stranger  came — 
a  young  man,  well  dressed,  courteous,  and  politely 
insinuating. 

"  The  leaders  of  the  Fraternity  are  now  in  con- 
ference and  the  Count  cannot  leave  them  for  the 
moment.  Will  you  join  them  or  can  I  carry  any 
message  ?  " 

He  referred  to  the  Fraternity  with  a  sort  of 
secretive  suggestiveness ;  but  it  nevertheless  sur- 
prised me  that  the  subject  should  be  mentioned  so 
openly. 

"  I  can  wait,"  I  said.  "  I  merely  wish  to  see  him 
privately." 

"  Let  me  carry  a  message.  He  may  be  some  time. 
On  such  a  night  as  this  the  meeting  must  neces- 
sarily be  lengthy.  I  am  in  his  confidence,  his  private 
secretary,  in  fact,"  he  added,  when  I  made  no  reply. 
"  And  of  course,  in  full  sympathy  with  him  in  all." 

"  I  didn't  know  he  had  a  secretary,  but  you  will 
probably  know  my  name,  Robert  Anstruther." 

"Oh,  are  you  Mr.  Anstruther?  Yes,  indeed.  I 
am  glad  to  meet  you,  if  you  will  allow  me  to 
say  so.  You  have  probably  come  to  see  him 

about ?  "  He  paused  as  if  inviting  me  to  finish 

the  sentence. 

"Well?" 

He  laughed  pleasantly.  "  You  will  think  it  very 
.stupid  of  me,  but  in  the  multiplicity  of  things  which 


232     IN  THE  CAUSE  OF  FREEDOM 

in  this  crisis  in  the  city  have  crowded  upon  me,  I 
have  lost  the  clue.  Let  me  think; "  and  he  put  his 
hand  to  his  forehead  as  if  in  perplexity. 

He  was  evidently  a  very  sharp,  clever  fellow,  but 
it  struck  me  that  his  sudden  forgetfulness  was  a 
little  overacted. 

"  I  am  not  surprised  you  can't  remember  it,"  I 
said  with  a  smile  intended  to  be  as  frank  and 
pleasant  as  his. 

A  quick  glance  from  his  keen  eyes,  not  intended 
for  me  to  notice,  put  me  further  upon  my  guard. 
"  That  is  very  good  of  you.  But  I  take  it  what  you 
have  to  say  is  for  the  Count's  own  ears  ?  " 

I  looked  steadily  at  him  a  moment.  "  I  am 
thinking  where  I  have  seen  you  before,"  I  said, 
preparing  to  make  a  shot. 

"  I  have  not  had  the  pleasure,  I  am  sure,"  he 
replied,  with  another  smile;  deprecating  this  time. 
He  had  as  many  different  smiles  as  a  woman.  "  I 
do  not  forget  faces  and  should  instantly  recognize 
such  a  friend  of  the  Count  as  Mr.  Anstruther,  if 
we  had  met  before." 

"  I  have  it,"  I  exclaimed,  banging  my  hand  on 
the  table.  "  You  were  in  the  Police  Headquarters 
when  I  was  arrested  and  taken  there  from  Solden." 

It  was  a  good  guess,  and  his  surprise  unmasked 
him  for  an  instant.  "  What  do  you  mean,  sir?  " 

"  That  you  are  an  agent  of  the  Department. 
Your  people  arrested  me  as  a  conspirator  and  im- 
prisoned me  until  my  friend,  General  von  Ecker- 
stein,  explained  the  mistake.  Count  Ladislas 


A  BLANK  OUTLOOK  233 

Tuleski  and  I  are  old  friends,  and  as  the  General 
has  advised  me  to  leave  Warsaw,  I  did  not  wish  to 
go  away  without  bidding  my  friend  good-bye.  But 
I  suppose  you  have  raided  the  house,  and  made  it 
a  trap  for  any  one  you  think  you  should  suspect. 
Not  a  nice  trick  perhaps,  but  then  our  English 
methods  differ  from  yours.  Now,  how  do  I  stand  ? 
Do  you  wish  to  repeat  the  farce  of  arresting  me  ?  " 
In  view  of  the  ugly  incident  with  the  police  agent 
when  helping  Volna  to  escape,  I  was  a  great  deal 
more  anxious  about  his  reply  than  my  easy  smile 
may  have  led  him  to  believe. 


CHAPTER    XXII 

POLICE  METHODS 

WE  dallied  with  the  question  and  I  thought  he 
was  going-  to  repudiate  my  suggestion;  but 
after  a  slight  pause  his  manner  became  official. 

"  If  you  recognize  me,  there  is  no  reason  for 
further  concealment.  We  are  in  possession  of  the 
house  and  my  object  was  to  learn  the  purpose  of 
your  visit.  I  invite  you  to  tell  it  me  plainly." 

"  It  is  merely  personal  and  private.  If  I  leave 
Warsaw  to-morrow,  I  shall  not  have  another  oppor- 
tunity to  see  my  friend." 

"  A  mere  friendly  call  ?  At  such  an  hour  as  this  ? 
On  one  of  the  leaders  of  the  conspiracy  which  is 
threatening  the  whole  city  ?  " 

"  It  is  no  novel  experience  for  me  to  make  a 
statement  which  at  the  time  is  not  believed  by  the 
agents  of  your  Department  and  to  have  the  truth 
proved  later." 

"  Where  have  you  come  from  ?  " 

"  I  dined  at  the  Hotel  Vladimir  about  a  couple  of 
hours  ago;  since  then  I  have  been  in  the  streets." 

"  Also  for  private  and  personal  purposes  ?  " 

"  I  am  an  Englishman  and  always  interested  in 
watching  the  results  of  misgovernment.  A  mere 
personal  interest,  of  course." 

234 


POLICE    METHODS  235 

He  liked  this  no  better  than  I  intended.  "  Your 
visit  here  to-night  is  full  of  suspicion,  sir,  and  the 
account  of  your  movements  very  difficult  to  believe.'' 

"  In  England  such  a  remark  would  be  treated  as 
an  impertinence;  but  there  we  manage  matters 
differently,  and  even  police  officials  speak  the  lan- 
guage of  courtesy." 

"  This  is  not  England,"  he  said  with  a  sneer. 

"  Thank  God  that  at  least  is  true.  But  all  the 
same,  need  we  ruffle  one  another's  tempers?  I  am 
ready  to  do  what  you  wish,  I  can't  help  myself,  of 
course." 

"  What  is  your  address?" 

"  The  night  before  last  I  was  a  guest  of  your 
Department  in  the  fortress  of  Kreuzstadt.  Last 
night  I  stayed  at  the  house  of  my  friend,  General 
von  Eckerstein.  To-night  I  meant  to  ask  Ladislas 
to  put  me  up;  and  to-morrow  I  might  be  on  my 
way  to  God's  country  once  more.  As  it  is,  I  shall 
return  to  the  Hotel  Vladimir,  unless  of  course  you 

have  any "  and  I  waved  my  hand  to  indicate 

that  he  might  like  to  finish  the  sentence. 

"  My  instructions  are  to  send  all  who  come  to 
this  house  to  the  Department.  One  of  my  men  will 
accompany  you." 

"  I  am  ready,"  I  answered,  curtly.  "  It  is  a  pity 
you  did  not  act  on  your  instructions  before  and 
save  time,  instead  of  trying  to  trick  me  into  ad- 
missions." 

"  You  can  make  your  explanations  there,  sir, 
and  lodge  any  complaint  you  please,"  he  replied; 


236     IN  THE  CAUSE  OF  FREEDOM 

and  in  a  few  minutes  I  was  on  my  way  to  the 
Department  in  charge  of  one  of  his  subordinates. 

"You  are  an  Englishman?"  he  said,  after  he 
had  been  eyeing  me  very  curiously  for  some  time. 

"  Yes,  with  no  great  opinion  of  your  methods  of 
government." 

"  From  London  ? " 

"Yes,  from  London." 

"  I  have  been  in  London,"  he  answered  in  excel- 
lent English. 

"  I  wonder  you  ever  came  back  here,  then." 

"  I  was  some  time  there,  in  Soho.  It  was  in 
London,  I  suppose,  you  met  Count  Ladislas  Tu- 
leski?" 

"There  and  in  other  places.  Has  he  been 
arrested  to-night  ?  " 

"  No.  He  would  have  been,  but  some  one  gave 
him  notice  that  his  house  was  to  be  raided;  and  of 
course  he  fled."  He  laughed  as  though  this  were 
a  joke. 

"  Strange  how  these  official  secrets  get  tapped  ?  " 
I  said. 

"  The  Fraternity  has  friends  in  many  quarters." 

"Has  it?" 

He  laughed  again,  rather  drily,  this  time,  and 
answered  with  a  shrewd  glance.  "Of  course  you 
don't  know.  Any  one  calling  at  the  Count's  house 
at  such  a  time  would  not." 

What  was  he  driving  at?  His  manner  suggested 
more  than  a  mere  desire  to  pump  me.  I  made  no 
reply,  waiting  for  him  to  develop  the  thing. 


POLICE    METHODS  237 

"  My  name  is  Christian  Burski.  You  may  know 
it,"  he  said  next. 

"  How  should  I,  an  Englishman,  know  the  names 
of  the  Warsaw  police?  " 

He  laughed  at  this  first  and  then  said  meaningly, 
"  Not  of  all  the  police,  of  course.  But  mine  is  well 
known." 

"  Is  it  ?  I  don't  envy  you  your  reputation,  all 
the  same." 

"Ah,  you  have  no  sympathy  with  the  police." 

"  A  kind  of  sport  in  which  I'd  rather  be  hunted 
than  hunter." 

He  smiled.  "  That's  good.  I  like  your  way," 
he  replied;  and  then  lowering  his  voice  and  speak- 
ing earnestly,  he  added :  "  Is  this  visit  to  Head- 
quarters likely  to  be  serious  for  you?  Are  you 
suspect?" 

"  One  would  scarcely  go  to  such  a  place  on  a 
night  like  this  from  choice,  I  suppose  ?  "  I  answered 
lightly. 

"  There's  a  lot  of  trouble  brewing  in  the  streets 
and  it  would  be  easy  for  a  man  to  get  away  from  a 
single  guard." 

After  a  bribe,  I  concluded.  "  Will  you  smoke?  " 
I  asked  him  and  handed  him  a  cigar.  We  stood  to 
light  up  and  as  the  match  flared  between  us  our 
eyes  met.  "  Why  do  you  say  this  ?  " 

"  As  a  peasant  farmer,  friend,"  he  laughed. 

I  held  the  match  to  his  cigar  and  he  pulled  at  it, 
keeping  his  eyes  the  while  on  me.  "  You  seem  in  a 
hurry,"  I  answered,  laughing  in  my  turn. 


238    IN  THE  CAUSE  OF  FREEDOM 

"  Immediate,"  came  the  due  response. 

"Your  name?" 

Up  went  his  left  hand  as  he  gave  me  the  sign. 
"  In  the  eye  of  God." 

I  thrust  out  my  hand. 

He  looked  at  me  steadily  and  would  not  take  it. 
It  was  proof  enough. 

"  Did  you  give  notice  of  the  raid  ?  " 

He  nodded.  "  Yes.  If  you  don't  wish  to  go  to 
the  Department,  we'll  get  into  one  of  these  crowds ; 
you  can  knock  me  over  and  get  away." 

I  thought  quickly.  "  I  don't  think  it  matters. 
But  you  can  help  me  in  a  much  more  important 
affair.  Have  we  a  friend  in  Colonel  Bremenhof's 
house — his  private  house  ?  " 

"  I  am  there  myself,"  he  answered,  with  his  dry 
smile. 

"  Could  you  get  me  admittance  ?  " 

"  No,  impossible." 

"  If  I  were  once  inside  could  you  help  me?  " 

"  At  the  risk  of  both  our  lives." 

"  When  will  you  be  there  ?  " 

"  To-morrow,  I  expect.  To-night,  the  raids  on 
the  Fraternity  leaders  have  brought  every  special 
among  us  on  duty.  To-morrow,  the  military  will 
be  called  out." 

"  If  I  am  not  detained  at  the  Department  to- 
night, could  you  bring  me  a  police  uniform  to  the 
Hotel  Vladimir?  " 

"  Yes.  One  of  mine.  We  are  pretty  much  the 
same  height.  By  whose  ordfers?" 


POLICE    METHODS  239 

"  To  serve  Count  Tuleski.  There  are  certain 
papers  in  Colonel  Bremenhof's  safe  which  we  must 
have." 

"  Impossible,"  he  said,  with  a  shake  of  the  head. 
"  He  carries  the  key  always ;  and  when  he  is  absent 
a  man  is  always  posted  in  the  room." 

"Which  room  is  it?" 

"  The  library.  The  room  at  the  back  of  the 
house  on  your  left  as  you  enter.  But  there  are 
usually  half  a  dozen  men  on  guard  in  the  house." 

"  At  what  time  after  dusk  does  the  Colonel  return 
home?" 

"  At  six — he  dines  with  his  mother  and  sister." 

"  If  you  see  me  in  the  house  to-morrow  you  will 
contrive  to  be  on  hand,  should  any  one  be  called  by 
him.  That  is  all.  God  keep  us  all,"  I  said,  remem- 
bering Jacob  Posen's  parting  salutation  at  Kervatje. 

"  God  keep  us  all,"  he  repeated. 

We  reached  the  Department  soon  afterwards  and 
after  a  short  delay  I  was  taken  in  to  Bremenhof, 
who  received  me  with  a  half-suppressed,  malicious 
chuckle.  My  guard,  Burski,  reported  that  I  had 
called  at  Ladislas'  house  and  the  explanation  I  had 
given. 

Bremenhof  sent  him  out  of  the  room.  "  I 
scarcely  expected  to  see  you  here  again  so  soon," 
he  said,  when  we  were  alone.  "  We  have  another 
charge  waiting  for  you." 

"  I  can  answer  any  charge." 

"  Do  you  wish  to  communicate  with  your  friends 
this  time  ?  "  he  sneered.  "  Scarcely  so,  I  imagine. 


240    IN  THE  CAUSE  OF  FREEDOM 

General  von  Eckerstein  pledged  himself  that  you 
were  no  revolutionary.  Why  then  did  I  find  you  at 
the  Drakonas'  house  this  afternoon;  why  did  you 
aid  the  escape  of  a  suspect ;  and  follow  it  with  this 
night  visit  to  the  house  of  a  Fraternity  leader?  " 

I  smiled.  "  You  are  not  alarming  me,  Colonel 
Bremenhof.  I  am  no  revolutionary.  I  went  to  the 
Drakonas'  house  because  my  friend  Count  Ladis- 
las  Tuleski  urged  me  to  help  him  in  protecting  from 
you  the  woman  he  hopes  to  marry — Volna  Dra- 
kona ;  I  helped  her  to  escape  when  you  sent  to  arrest 
her;  and  I  went  to  my  friend's  house  to  tell  him 
what  I  had  done." 

"  The  woman  he  is  to  marry  ?  "  he  exclaimed  with 
a  scowl.  Then  with  a  vicious  curl  of  the  lip :  "  So 
you  admit  that  you  helped  in  this  escape?" 

"  Why  should  I  deny  it  ?  You  have  the  proofs. 
Your  man  would  identify  me.  You  can  charge  me 
with  the  offence,  but  of  course  in  that  case  the 
reasons  for  the  suspect's  arrest  must  be  gone  into 
fully.  And  you  see  I  know  them  thoroughly." 

He  saw  his  dilemma.  "  I  did  not  say  I  should 
charge  you,  only  that  you  have  now  committed  an 
act  which  at  such  a  time  of  crisis  carries  serious 
consequences." 

It  was  my  turn  to  chuckle ;  but  I  had  more  to  gain 
than  merely  turn  the  tables  on  him. 

"  I  have  done  nothing  which  I  am  not  perfectly 
willing  to  make  known  publicly  anywhere.  When 
I  learned  my  friend's  sentiments  and  hopes  in 
regard  to  Miss  Drakona,  my  own  object  was  in- 


POLICE    METHODS  241 

stantly  changed.  But  for  his  persistence,  I  should 
probably  have  left  Warsaw  to-day." 

This  drew  a  long,  keen,  searching  look  on  me. 
"  Does  Miss  Drakona  know  this  ?  " 

"  Of  course." 

"  Are  you  aware  of  the  charges  against  Count 
Tuleski?  That  if  made  good,  they  may  involve  a 
life  sentence,  or  at  least,  Siberia?" 

"  Why  do  you  tell  me  this?  " 

"  You  are  shrewd  enough  to  understand,  Mr. 
Anstruther." 

"  I  will  not  discuss  such  a  question." 

"  If  this  matter  against  you  is  not  pressed,  will 
you  leave  Warsaw  ?  " 

"  How  can  I  ?  I  have  agreed  to  be  examined 
to-morrow  about  the  Bratinsk  matter." 

He  waved  an  impatient  hand.  "  I  can  arrange 
that,  of  course." 

"  I  will  go  on  condition  that  Madame  Drakona 
is  at  once  set  at  liberty  and  the  evidence  you  are 
holding  back  is  placed  in  my  hands,  and  that  Miss 
Volna  Drakona  is  absolved  from  all  responsibility 
for  the  affair  at  Bratinsk." 

I  looked  for  an  outburst  of  anger  at  this ;  but  he 
listened  closely  and  then  sat  thinking,  a  heavy 
frown  on  his  dark  face. 

"  What  is  behind  that?  "  he  asked  after  the  pause. 

"That  Miss  Drakona  must  be  a  free  agent  to 
become  the  wife  of  my  friend  if  she  will." 

"  Free  to  go  to  Siberia?  "  he  sneered;  "  or  per- 
haps you  mean  to  England?  " 


242     IN  THE  CAUSE  OF  FREEDOM 

"  There  is  an  end  of  the  thing.  I  have  no  use 
for  a  man  who  doubts  my  word." 

"You  forget  how  grossly  I  have  been  deceived 
already." 

I  made  no  reply,  but  leant  back  in  my  chair, 
crossed  my  legs,  and  shoved  my  hands  into  my 
pockets  with  a  great  show  of  unconcern. 

"  Where  is  Miss  Drakona  ?  "  I  took  no  notice. 
"  Can  you  communicate  with  her?  "  I  took  a  paper 
from  my  pocket  and  began  to  read  it.  "  If  I  agree, 
when  will  you  leave  Warsaw  ?  "  I  made  a  pencil 
note  on  the  paper,  folded  it  up  and  put  it  away  with 
a  sigh  of  weariness. 

"  I  did  not  mean  to  doubt  your  word.  I  retract 
what  I  said." 

"  That's  another  matter.  We  can  resume.  Pro- 
vided you  keep  faith  with  me  throughout.  Then, 
as  soon  as  Madame  Drakona  is  free  and  you  have 
handed  me  the  evidence  against  her  and  satisfied 
me  that  the  charge  against  her  daughter  is  settled, 
I  will  go  by  the  next  train  ?  " 

"  On  your  word  of  honour?  " 

"  On  my  word  of  honour." 

He  thought  for  a  moment.  "  You  can  arrange 
to  leave  to-morrow  night.  There  will  be  certain 
formalities  to  settle  of  course.  I  will  see  to  them 
to-morrow.  Come  to  my  private  house  to-morrow 
at  six  o'clock  and  I  shall  be  prepared  with  every- 
thing. Are  you  still  with  General  von  Ecker- 
stein?" 


POLICE    METHODS  243 

"  No.  I  shall  stay  to-night  at  the  Hotel  Vladi- 
mir." 

"  You  can  go.  Oh,  by  the  way,"  he  added  in  a 
tone  of  indifference ;  "  your  manservant  has 
been  brought  here  with  your  luggage  from 
Bratinsk." 

Something  in  his  manner  struck  me.  His  indif- 
ference seemed  forced.  "  Is  he  a  prisoner? "  I 
asked. 

"  Oh,  no.    Not  now." 

"  Let  him  bring  my  things  to  the  Vladimir." 

He  struck  his  table  bell.  "  This  gentleman  has 
been  brought  here  needlessly,"  he  said  to  the  man 
who  came.  "  He  has  certain  instructions  to  give 
about  his  manservant.  See  that  they  are  carried 
out.  Good-night,  Mr.  Anstruther." 

I  left  the  message  for  Felsen,  and  as  I  was  pass- 
ing out  I  saw  Burski.  He  gave  me  a  quick  glance 
of  congratulation. 

"  I  am  going,  you  see,"  I  said. 

"  I  did  no  more  than  my  duty,"  he  answered,  for 
those  about  us  to  hear. 

"  I  have  no  grudge  against  you.  I  hope  you  will 
always  do  no  less  than  your  duty." 

He  noticed  the  equivocal  phrase.  "  I  think  I  can 
be  depended  upon,"  was  his  equally  ambiguous 
reply. 

"  Good-night.  I  am  going  to  the  Hotel  Vladi- 
mir" 

"  It  is  nothing  to  me.    Good-night." 


244    IN  THE  CAUSE  OF  FREEDOM 

I  moved  off;  and  just  then  some  one  called  out — 
"  Burski,  the  chief  wants  you." 

I  turned  my  head  at  the  call;  and  was  just  in 
time  to  catch  his  eyes  fixed  upon  me  with  an  expres- 
sion which  set  me  thinking  as  I  stepped  into  the 
street  and  started  for  the  hotel. 

It  was  a  look  which  suggested  that  the  mask  was 
off  in  that  moment. 

Had  he  been  just  fooling  me? 


CHAPTER    XXIII 

SPY  WORK 

T  T  is  never  pleasant  to  have  to  admit  even  in  the 
•••  secrecy  of  one's  own  private  thoughts  that  one 
has  been  fooled;  nor  does  the  cleverness  of  the 
fooler  afford  any  but  the  coldest  consolation. 

Yet  when  I  sat  down  to  think  things  over  calmly, 
I  could  come  to  only  one  conclusion — that  in  my 
trial  of  wits  against  Bremenhof  and  his  agents  I 
had  been  wofully  worsted. 

A  little  thing  will  suffice  to  start  suspicion;  and 
in  this  case  it  was  that  strange  look  which  I  had 
surprised  on  Burski's  face. 

Once  started,  however,  my  suspicions  gathered 
like  snow  flakes  in  a  drift,  and  quickly  hardened 
into  certainty.  Everything  seemed  to  be  as  highly 
charged  with  doubt,  as  a  bomb  with  dynamite.  I 
could  see  how  I  had  just  played  into  their  hands, 
like  a  countryman  in  the  care  of  a  gang  of  sharpers. 

Why  should  Bremenhof  give  in  about  Madame 
Drakona;  and  to  me  of  all  men?  He  had  cun- 
ningly led  me  to  believe  that  it  was  because  of  my 
changed  relations  in  regard  to  Volna.  But  mine 
were  little  more  than  blank  cartridges;  yet  he  had 
waved  the  white  flag  the  instant  I  fired  one  at  him. 

I  could  see  now  how  unreal  the  whole  interview 
had  been.  He  had  read  my  purpose  and  had  just 

245 


246     IN  THE  CAUSE  OF  FREEDOM 

played  with  me,  keeping  his  own  plan  cunningly 
concealed.  He  meant  to  use  me  for  that  plan. 
What  was  it?  And  how  did  he  mean  me  to  help 
him? 

There  was  the"  matter  of  Felsen,  too.  Why  had 
Bremenhof  been  at  the  pains  to  render  me  a  service? 
I  had  not  been  so  dense  as  not  to  notice  that  his 
indifference  in  mentioning  Felsen  was  feigned. 
What  object  had  he  in  sending  the  man  back  to  me 
at  such  a  moment? 

I  recalled  the  interview  I  had  overheard  between 
Felsen  and  the  police  agent  at  Bratinsk.  The  police 
had  brought  him  to  Warsaw  now.  What  had  been 
the  relations  between  them  in  the  interval?  Were 
they  going  to  use  him  as  a  spy?  It  looked  very 
much  like  it. 

Then  I  thought  of  Burski  and  grew  hot  with 
shame  at  the  easy  manner  in  which  I  had  let  the 
fellow  trick  me  with  his  use  of  the  Fraternity  signal 
and  pass  words,  and  his  offer  to  let  me  escape.  He 
had  been  fooling  me  of  course;  and  had  succeeded 
with  his  subtler  effort  after  his  superior  at  Ladislas' 
house  had  failed.  It  was  all  part  of  the  system  of 
spy  work :  and  by  this  time  Bremenhof  knew  every- 
thing and  was  no  doubt  laughing  at  me  and  setting 
the  snare  which  was  to  complete  my  overthrow. 

Sackcloth  and  ashes  may  be  hard  wearing  ap- 
parel; but  they  don't  hurt  as  much  as  the  stings  of 
such  humiliation  as  I  felt  in  realizing  my  self-satis- 
fied stupidity  and  the  ease  with  which  I  had  been 
gulled. 


SPY   WORK  247 

The  one  redeeming  point  was  that  my  eyes  had 
been  opened  before  it  was  too  late ;  and  the  question 
was  whether  I  could  still  get  out  of  the  mess  into 
which  I  had  blundered. 

I  soon  guessed  the  drift  of  Bremenhof's  scheme. 
It  was  to  ruin  me  by  convicting  me  of  complicity 
in  the  Fraternity  conspiracy;  and  in  the  meanwhile 
to  use  me  to  enable  him  to  find  Volna.  Felsen  was 
no  doubt  the  chosen  spy  for  the  latter  part;  and 
Burski  for  the  former. 

My  first  step  was  obvious.  I  must  not  let  either 
man  know  that  I  suspected  him. 

With  Felsen  this  was  easy.  When  he  arrived  I 
talked  over  matters  with  him;  listened  to  the  story 
of  his  sufferings  on  my  account;  promised  him  a 
liberal  reward  for  what  he  had  endured;  and  did 
my  best  to  make  him  feel  that  he  still  had  my 
confidence. 

With  the  police  agent,  Burski,  I  had  to  be  much 
more  wary.  I  had  already  had  proofs  of  his  shrewd- 
ness; and  I  found  him  prepared  with  an  explana- 
tion of  his  call  to  Bremenhof  as  I  was  leaving  the 
Department. 

He  sent  up  his  name  openly,  and  as  the  hotel 
servant  was  leaving  the  room  he  said,  with  offi- 
cial curtness:  "A  letter  from  Colonel  Bre- 
menhof." 

It  was  a  formal  notice  that  my  examination  had 
been  postponed. 

"  We  are  alone?  "  he  asked  in  a  low  voice. 

I  nodded.    "  I  have  only  this  room." 


248     IN  THE  CAUSE  OF  FREEDOM 

He  drew  a  chair  close  to  mine.  "  We  are  in  luck. 
You  noticed  that  the  chief  sent  for  me  ?  " 

"  Yes ;  and  was  a  little  surprised." 

"  A  rare  stroke  of  fortune.  He  suspects  you  and 
questioned  me  closely  as  to  what  I  had  got  out  of 
you  on  the  way  to  police  quarters.  You  know  we 
agents  are  supposed  to  trick  a  prisoner  into  admis- 
sions." 

"  An  infernal  system  it  is,  too ;  but  they  can't 
get  at  me.  They  had  me  for  nearly  a  week;  but 
I  have  friends,  and  they  were  forced  to  let  me  go." 

"  You  must  be  careful,  friend.  You  are  to  be 

watched  and "  Here  he  smiled  very  slyly — 

"  The  chief  has  picked  me  out  for  the  work.  Is  not 
that  luck?" 

He  was  evidently  pretty  sure  of  me.  "  I  can't 
quite  understand  that,"  I  said,  as  if  in  doubt.  "  As 
a  matter  of  fact  I  found  the  Colonel  willing  to  do 
all  I  asked."  Then  I  became  apparently  confiden- 
tial; that  is,  I  told  him  just  as  much  as  I  surmised 
Bremenhof  would  have  told  him  already ;  and  refer- 
ring to  the  visit  to  Bremenhof's  house,  I  laid  special 
stress  on  the  fact  that  Ladislas,  as  a  leader  of  the 
Fraternity,  had  assigned  the  task  to  me. 

He  pledged  himself  to  help  and  questioned  me 
as  to  my  object. 

"  Is  that  all  ?  "  he  exclaimed,  with  a  shrug  of  the 
shoulders  when  I  said  my  object  was  merely  to  get 
the  papers.  "  He  is  so  hated  and  feared  that  I 
hoped "  here  he  dropped  his  voice  to  a  whisper 


SPY   WORK  249 

and  looked  intently  and  meaningly  at  me — "  that 
your  orders  went  farther." 

I  understood  him.  "  I  am  an  Englishman,  friend, 
and  no  assassin,"  I  said  firmly. 

He  made  as  if  to  conceal  a  natural  disappoint- 
ment. "  And  this  uniform." 

"  A  disguise  to  enable  me  to  get  the  Count's 
friends  away  under  the  pretence  of  an  arrest.  But 
I  doubt  now  if  I  shall  need  it." 

He  paused.  "  A  shrewd  plan  indeed ;  but  not  so 
far-reaching  as  I  had  looked  for  and  hoped.  It  is 
best  for  friends  to  be  frank." 

"  The  Count  himself  as  you  know  is  dead  against 
all  violence." 

"The  time  is  past  for  mere  talk;  we  must  act," 
he  exclaimed,  with  an  excellent  suggestion  of  sup- 
pressed excitement;  and  he  sought  to  lead  me  to 
discuss  the  affairs  of  the  Fraternity. 

"  I  am  not  a  leader  and  have  only  to  do  the  task 
assigned  to  me,"  I  said.  "  Let  others  do  as  they 
will." 

"  You  believe  our  freedom  can  be  won  without 
violence?  " 

"  I  have  only  to  do  the  task  assigned  to  me,"  I 
repeated;  and  would  not  be  drawn  any  farther. 

As  he  was  going  he  referred  to  Felsen.  ;<  You 
trust  your  servant?  You  know  he  is  also  suspect." 

"  I  know  he  is  a  good  servant." 

"  Do  not  trust  him  too  far.  He  talks  too  freely. 
Be  on  your  guard ;  and  don't  let  him  see  this  uni- 


250    IN  THE  CAUSE  OF  FREEDOM 

form.  He  will  know  that  I  have  brought  it ;  and  the 
knowledge  might  be  dangerous  to  both  of  us." 

It  was  a  clever  stroke  for  one  spy  to  put  me  on 
my  guard  against  the  other;  but  my  eyes  were  no 
longer  blinded ;  and  his  warning  did  not  mislead  me. 

I  was  fully  alive  to  the  personal  risk  I  was  run- 
ning, and  I  spent  a  couple  of  hours  in  very  anxious 
thought,  recasting  my  plans  for  the  next  day.  In 
the  end  I  resolved  to  act  as  though  implicitly  believ- 
ing in  Bremenhof  s  sincerity,  and  saw  how  to  use 
one  of  his  own  spies  to  let  him  know  my  intention. 

In  the  morning  I  wrote  a  note  to  Volna. 

"  DEAR  Miss  DRAKONA, — I  am  glad  to  tell  you 
that  in  an  interview  I  had  with  Colonel  Bremenhof 
last  night  he  agreed  to  hand  over  to  me  the  evidence 
against  your  mother  and  also  to  place  it  on  record 
that  there  is  no  charge  of  any  kind  against  you. 
He  imposed  one  condition ;  and  I  shall  comply  with 
it  by  leaving  Warsaw  to-night.  I  think  it  better 
not  to  call  upon  you  this  morning.  Therefore  I 
send  this  by  my  servant,  Jacob  Felsen,  who  is  to 
be  trusted. 

"  I  wish  you  earnestly,  God  speed,  and  shall 
always  be 

"  Your  Friend, 

"  ROBERT  ANSTRUTHER." 

I  addressed  this  openly  to  Volna  and  gave  it  to 
my  servant. 

"  I  am  going  to  trust  you  with  a  very  important 


SPY   WORK  251 

secret,  Felsen,"  I  said  as  impressively  and  earnestly 
as  I  could.  "  The  safety  of  the  person  to  whom  this 
is  addressed  may  depend  upon  your  good  faith.  I 
cannot  go  to  the  place  myself,  but  I  feel  I  can  rely 
upon  your  doing  all  I  look  for  from  you  in  the 
matter." 

He  answered  with  a  hundred  protestations  of 
fidelity;  and  was  so  over-insistent  that  I  was  quite 
sure  he  meant  to  take  the  letter  straight  to  Bremen- 
hof,  who  would  either  hurry  to  the  house  himself 
or  send  to  have  Volna  brought  to  him.  He  would 
thus  find  that  I  had  given  the  right  address  and 
was  apparently  acting,  as  my  letter  implied,  in  reli- 
ance upon  his  word. 

But  as  I  was  careful  that  Felsen  did  not  leave  my 
hotel  until  it  was  impossible  for  Bremenhof  or  his 
men  to  get  to  the  Place  of  St.  John  before  Volna 
had  left  to  keep  her  appointment  with  me,  I  was 
risking  nothing  in  giving  away  her  real  address. 

As  soon  as  he  was  gone  I  started  to  meet  her.  I 
found  Burski  in  the  hall  of  the  hotel  smoking  a 
cigar  and  chatting  with  some  other  men. 

I  concluded  that  I  was  to  be  shadowed  and  that 
he  was  there  to  point  me  out  to  whoever  might  be 
detailed  for  the  work. 

"  Ah,  good-morning,  Mr.  Anstruther,"  he  said, 
coming  up  to  me. 

I  stopped  and  returned  his  greeting.  "  What  is 
the  news?  Is  the  trouble  over?  " 

"  No,  indeed.  It  is  going  to  begin.  The  men  in 
almost  every  factory  and  workshop  in  the  city  have 


252    IN  THE  CAUSE  OF  FREEDOM 

struck  work:  every  policeman  is  on  duty,  and  the 
soldiers  are  being  held  in  readiness.  It  will  be  a 
black  day  for  Warsaw." 

"  There  will  be  violence,  you  mean?  " 

"  Do  men  get  together  in  thousands  and  tens  of 
thousands  just  to  shake  hands  with  one  another? 
You  are  not  going  out  ?  " 

"  Indeed  I  am.  I  have  a  free  day — my  last  possi- 
bly in  Warsaw — and  I  wish  to  see  matters  for 
myself.  Where  are  the  strikers  in  force?  " 

At  this  moment  a  man  who  was  sitting  near  the 
door  rose  and  sauntered  out,  followed  soon  after- 
wards by  a  second.  I  marked  them  well;  for  I 
guessed  they  might  be  told  off  to  shadow  me. 

"  They  are  in  force  everywhere,"  he  replied. 
"  Shall  you  be  long  away  ?  " 

"  Come  with  me  and  show  me  things  ?  One 
direction  is  as  good  as  another  for  me." 

He  drew  me  aside  and  lowered  his  voice  to  a 
whisper :  "  I  am  supposed  to  be  following  you,  you 
know.  But  if  you  tell  me  when  you'll  get  back  here, 
it  will  do."  Such  a  clever  assumption  of  sincerity. 

"  Frankly,  I  don't  know."  I  did  not;  but  not  for 
the  reason  I  wished  him  to  infer.  "  I  may  soon  have 
had  enough  of  it."  And  with  that  I  went  to  the 
door,  glanced  up  and  down  the  street,  and  then 
strolled  off  as  though  I  had  no  purpose  beyond  the 
merest  curiosity. 

I  soon  perceived  that  I  was  being  followed  by  the 
two  men  I  had  seen  leave  the  hotel;  and  a  well 
trained  Russian  sleuthhound  can  be  very  difficult 


SPY   WORK  253 

to  shake  off.  But  I  had  a  plan  for  doing  this ;  and 
luck  soon  favoured  me. 

In  one  of  the  side  streets  off  Noviswiat  Street,  the 
great  business  thoroughfare,  a  crowd  of  strikers 
stood  listening  to  a  very  excited  speaker.  I  got  into 
the  middle  of  them  and  just  when  he  was  abusing 
the  employers  and  cursing  the  police  for  taking 
their  side  against  the  workers,  I  pointed  out  the  two 
sleuths  to  the  men  close  to  me  and  whispered  that 
they  were  police  spies.  The  news  spread  like  burn- 
ing oil  on  water;  and  when  I  slipped  away,  the  two 
men  were  the  centre  of  a  fierce,  threatening  mob 
and  far  too  much  concerned  for  their  own  safety  to 
care  what  became  of  me. 

The  incident  had  delayed  me  seriously,  however, 
and  a  glance  at  my  watch  showed  me  it  was  already 
a  quarter  past  eleven,  the  hour  for  my  appointment 
with  Volna. 

I  had  at  least  a  mile  to  go  and  after  a  sharp  walk 
for  a  couple  of  hundred  yards,  I  hailed  a  sleigh. 

Then  the  unexpected  happened,  "  The  Church 
of  St.  Paul  as  fast  as  you  can,"  I  called  to  the  man 
as  he  pulled  up;  and  I  was  stepping  quickly  into 
the  vehicle  when  some  one  laid  a  hand  on  my 
shoulder. 

I  turned  quickly;  and  to  my  infinite  chagrin  I 
found  it  was  the  agent,  Burski,  a  little  out  of  breath, 
but  smiling  and  evidently  on  excellent  terms  with 
himself. 


CHAPTER   XXIV 

BLACK    MONDAY    IN    WARSAW 

'  T    WAS   almost  afraid  I  shouldn't  catch  you 

•*•      up,"  said  Burski. 

"  I  thought  you  couldn't  get  away?  "  I  growled. 

"  Oh,  I  managed  it  all  right.  I  thought  it  would 
be  a  pity  for  you  to  miss  anything  I  could  shew  you 
on  your  last  day  in  the  city;  and  such  a  day;  so  I 
hurried  after  you.  Nearly  lost  you  in  that  crowd, 
though.  Going  to  the  Church  of  St.  Paul,  are  you  ? 
That'll  make  a  capital  starting  point.  Jump  in." 

But  it  was  not  in  my  programme  to  take  him  to 
meet  Volna.  "  No,  I  think  as  you're  with  me,  we 
shall  see  more  if  we  walk,"  I  replied,  and  I  tossed 
the  driver  a  rouble  and  dismissed  him. 

Burski  laughed.  "  That  illustrates  one  of  my  pet 
theories,"  he  said ;  "  that  you  English  are  some- 
times a  most  changeable  and  impulsive  people." 

"  I  am  not  interested  in  your  theories  about  my 
countrymen." 

"  Oh,  I  won't  force  them  on  you.  I  hate  a  man 
who  is  always  cramming  his  views  down  your 
throat.  He's  a  bore — the  poorest  sort  of  creature 
in  the  world.  Which  way  shall  we  walk  ?  " 

"  All  ways  are  the  same  to  me." 

"  Let  us  stroll  on  then.  It  will  take  us  to  the 
Church  of  St.  Paul." 

254 


BLACK  MONDAY  IN  WARSAW     255 

I  was  so  angry,  so  perplexed  how  to  shake  him 
off,  and  at  the  same  time  so  anxious  to  get  to  Volna 
that  I  would  not  trust  myself  to  speak.  Every  min- 
ute of  delay  increased  the  risk  that  she  might  tire 
of  waiting — or  jump  to  the  conclusion  that  I  could 
not  keep  the  appointment — and  go  back  to  the  house 
where  I  knew  Bremenhof's  men  might  already  be 
waiting  for  her. 

Burski  acted  as  though  he  saw  nothing  of  my 
uneasiness.  He  chatted  away  quite  unconcernedly, 
calling  my  attention  now  to  a  church  and  again 
to  some  public  building;  and  accepting  my 
monosyllabic  surly  replies  with  unruffled  com- 
placency. 

Once  chance  offered  of  getting  away.  A  great 
crowd  of  strikers  came  marching  past,  filling  the 
roadway,  and  as  the  accompanying  mob  of  strag- 
glers surged  on  to  the  footpath,  I  was  about  to 
plunge  into  the  midst  of  their  ranks  when  he  slipped 
his  arm  into  mine  and  drew  me  back  into  a  door- 
way. 

"  For  Heaven's  sake  be  careful,"  he  cried.  "  The 
scum  of  the  city  is  there,  and  your  very  life  might 
be  in  danger." 

It  appeared  as  though  he  might  well  be  right ;  but 
I  could  have  cursed  him  for  his  forethought  all  the 
same. 

The  strikers  themselves  looked  formidable  enough. 
There  were  several  hundred  of  them,  stern-faced 
men  all ;  resolute,  silent,  determined,  dogged,  as 
though  moved  by  a  common  deep-set  purpose,  they 


256     IN  THE  CAUSE  OF  FREEDOM 

maintained  a  rough  order  of  march,  leaders  at  the 
head  and  on  the  flank  of  each  band. 

The  mob  hanging  on  their  skirts  were  of  a  very 
different  class,  however ;  ill-clad,  dirty,  unkempt  tat- 
ter-de-malions,  the  dregs  of  the  alleys  and  by-ways 
of  the  city,  ripe  for  any  mischief  or  devilment.  Evil 
men  and  worse  women,  they  shuffled  and  scrambled 
and  hustled  along,  with  occasional  cheers  for  the 
strikers,  hoarse  cries  and  oaths  to  one  another,  and 
execrations  for  the  government:  a  towsled,  disor- 
derly rabble,  unquestionably  dangerous,  and  high- 
charged  with  thoughts  and  hopes  of  violence.  It 
would  not  be  their  fault  if  the  day  ended  without 
open  resistance,  looting  ahd  bloodshed. 

For  many  minutes  precious  to  me  they  filled  the 
streets  and  made  progress  impossible;  and  before 
they  had  passed,  a  clock  near  by  struck  twelve. 

An  hour  past  the  time  at  which  I  was  to  have  met 
Volna.  She  would  surely  have  given  me  up  and  in 
all  probability  had  already  gone  back  to  the  house 
to  which  in  my  fatuous  confidence  in  my  own 
cleverness  I  had  been  reckless  enough  to  send 
Bremenhof. 

"  Where  have  the  strikers  come  from?  "  I  asked 
Burski,  as  a  sudden  thought  chilled  me. 

"  From  where  we  are  going,  the  Square  in  front 
of  the  Church  of  St.  Paul.  They  have  an  ugly  look 
and  we  shall  have  Petersburg  over  again,  if  they 
don't  shake  themselves  free  from  the  rabble.  And  it 
may  be  even  worse  here,  for  the  Fraternity  have 
brought  in  arms  and  are  prepared  to  resist.  There 
will  be  fighting  before  night." 


BLACK  MONDAY  IN  WARSAW     257 

"  Spoken  very  much  like  a  police  agent  that,"  I 
exclaimed. 

He  shrugged  his  shoulders.  "  One  gets  the  habit, 
I  suppose.  I  was  a  police  agent  long  before  I  joined 
the  Fraternity;  and  one  judges  of  things  from  that 
standpoint  at  times.  See,  they  have  swept  the 
Square  clear,"  he  added,  as  we  reached  the  Church. 

"  And  at  this  point  we'll  part  company,  please." 

He  assumed  great  surprise.  "Part  company? 
Why  we  have  seen  scarcely  anything  yet." 

"  I  mean  what  I  say." 

He  paused  and  then  his  manner  changed.  "  I  am 
really  sorry  for  this,  Mr.  Anstruther." 

"Sorry  for  what?" 

"  Of  course,  I  have  seen  that  I  was  not  wanted, 
but  the  fact  is  I  myself  am  being  watched.  I  am 
compelled  to  keep  with  you  for  an  hour  or  so." 

"  You  suggested  just  now  that  you  came  because 
I  had  asked  you,"  I  rapped  back. 

"  Well,  you  did  ask  me,  didn't  you  ?  And  you 
put  it  so  naturally  that  I  really  thought  you  were 
in  earnest." 

"  I  wasn't.  I  don't  wish  to  be  seen  by  our  friends 
to-day  in  the  company  of  so  well  known  a  police 
agent  as  yourself." 

"  Let  us  see  then  how  we  can  manage  it  ?  The 
simplest  way  will  be  for  me  to  drop  behind.  The 
friends  won't  know  we  are  together,  and  my  supe- 
riors will  see  I  am  obeying  orders." 

"  But  I  don't  wish  to  be  shadowed  either." 

He  spread  out  his  hands  with  an  air  of  bewilder- 


258     IN  THE  CAUSE  OF  FREEDOM 

ment.  "  For  the  sake  of  the  Fraternity  I  must  not 
lose  my  position  in  the  Police.  You  see  that?  " 

"  I  see  one  thing  which  is  enough  for  me.  I  am 
not  going  to  be  shadowed.  You  may  as  well  under- 
stand that." 

"  But  we  are  not  going  to  quarrel,  surely." 

"If  necessary  we  are." 

He  sighed  as  though  I  were  most  unreasonable. 
"  It  has  always  been  one  of  my  pet  theories " 

"  Hang  your  theories.  Are  you  going  to  persist 
in  following  me?  " 

"  No,  I  am  not." 

"  Then  go  your  way  and  leave  me  to  go  mine." 

"  Yes,  I  will  do  that." 

But  he  kept  at  my  side.    "  Then  go  back." 

"  Very  well.    I  am  sorry  I  have  annoyed  you." 

"  I  shan't  be  annoyed  if  you  leave  me  now." 

"  I  am  glad  to  hear  that." 

"  But  you  are  still  coming  on." 

"  I  am  thinking." 

The  Square  was  nearly  deserted  and  I  looked 
everywhere  for  Volna.  The  clock  chimed  the  quar- 
ter past  the  hour.  She  was  not  there. 

I  pulled  up.  "  I  have  had  enough  of  this.  What 
are  you  going  to  do?  " 

"  I  have  a  suggestion.  Let  us  go  to  Colonel 
Bremenhof  and  tell  him.  He  is  close  here." 

"Where?" 

"  The  Place  of  St.  John,  No.  17." 

I  turned  on  him  so  angrily  in  my  surprise  that  he 
drew  back  a  pace  and  his  right  hand  went  to  his 


BLACK  MONDAY  IN  WARSAW      259 

pocket,  where  I  guessed  he  had  a  revolver.  But  he 
forced  a  look  of  indifference,  and  keeping  his  eyes 
on  mine  jerked  his  head  in  the  direction. 

"  It  is  only  a  short  distance  across  the  Square 
there." 

It  was  now  quite  clear  my  scheme  had  gone 
wrong.  Either  Volna  had  been  prevented  from 
coming  to  meet  me ;  or,  having  come  had  been  scared 
away  by  the  mob,  or  had  given  me  up.  If  she  had 
returned  home,  she  was  already  in  Bremenhof's 
power ;  and  the  sooner  I  knew  of  it  the  better.  On 
the  other  hand,  if  she  was  not  there,  and  he  or  his 
men  were,  I  could  confront  him  with  the  proof  of 
his  double  dealing. 

"  I  don't  see  why  we  shouldn't  adopt  the  sugges- 
tion," I  said,  indifferently.  "  If  Colonel  Bremenhof 
has  ordered  me  to  be  shadowed,  I  may  as  well  know 
why.  We'll  go  there." 

"  This  way  then,"  he  replied,  adding  after  a 
pause,  "  I  trust  you  won't  misunderstand  my  posi- 
tion, Mr.  Anstruther." 

"  Why  are  you  so  anxious  about  it  ?  " 

"  You  have  been  so  badly  treated  by  the  Depart- 
ment, for  one  thing;  and  of  course,  as  a  fellow 
member  of  the  Fraternity,  I  am  bound  to  help  you 
all  I  can.  But  you  don't  seem  to  trust  me." 

"  How  did  you  know  Colonel  Bremenhof  was  at 
this  address,  the  Place  of  St.  John?  " 

"  He  sent  me  word  this  morning."  He  told  the 
lie  very  plausibly  and  without  the  slightest  hesita- 
tion. 


260    IN  THE  CAUSE  OF  FREEDOM 

"  You  know  his  affairs  pretty  closely — what  do 
you  suppose  he  is  doing  there?  " 

"  I  should  know  well  enough  but,  you  see,  I 
haven't  been  either  at  headquarters  or  at  his  house 
since  last  night,  when  I  left  to  see  you  at  the  Hotel 
Vladimir." 

"  I  should  find  it  easier  to  believe  you  if  I  had  not 
myself  sent  the  address  to  him  this  morning  at  a 
time  which  made  it  impossible  for  him  to  have  com- 
municated it  to  you." 

"  He  has  a  hundred  secret  sources  of  information. 
He  must  have  known  this  long  before." 

"Why?" 

He  spread  out  his  hand.  "  How  otherwise  could 
he  have  sent  it  to  me?  " 

"  If  he  did  send  it,"  I  retorted  drily. 

He  stopped  abruptly  as  though  an  idea  had  just 
occurred  to  him.  "  Wait.  Wait.  How  did  you 
send  it  to  him  ?  " 

"  By  my  servant,  Felsen." 

"  Then  that  is  it,"  he  cried.  "  I  suspected  that 
fellow.  It  was  he  who  told  me  the  address,  declar- 
ing the  chief  had  sent  the  message  by  him.  He  is  a 
traitor,  that  servant  of  yours.  The  scoundrel."  He 
was  quite  hot  in  his  indignation. 

"But  you  said  he  was  suspect,"  I  reminded  him. 

"  I  wished  to  warn  you.  I  told  you  he  talked.  I 
wish  I  had  spoken  more  plainly.  But  you  are  so 
quick,  I  thought  you  would  understand." 

"  I  am  beginning  to  now,"  I  replied,  as  we  hur- 
ried on. 


BLACK  MONDAY  IN  WARSAW     261 

As  we  reached  the  Place  of  St.  John  the  noise  of 
a -great  tumult  reached  us  from  the  direction  in 
which  we  had  seen  the  strikers  marching;  the  sub- 
dued roar  of  thousands  of  hoarse  voices,  followed 
first  by  some  desultory  shots  and  then  by  the  rattle 
of  musketry  firing. 

The  people  about  us  paused,  and  then  began  to 
run  in  the  direction  of  the  sound. 

"  It  has  begun,"  said  Burski.  "  The  troops  are 
stationed  by  the  Government  Buildings  and  the 
strikers  have  come  in  conflict  with  them." 

It  was  to  the  accompaniment  of  this  ominous 
music  of  revolt  that  we  approached  the  house.  A 
small  force  of  police  were  gathered  before  it,  and  I 
scanned  the  windows  eagerly  for  some  sign  of 
Volna's  presence.  I  saw  nothing. 

There  was  a  short  delay  before  we  were  admitted. 
Burski  drew  aside  two  of  the  men  and  during  the 
short  discussion,  curious  looks  were  cast  at  me.  In 
the  end  way  was  made  for  us  and  we  were  allowed 
to  pass. 

The  moment  we  were  inside  Burski  said :  "  We 
must  wait  here;  "  and  another  man  who  was  in  the 
passage  placed  himself  by  my  side. 

It  looked  very,  very  much  as  though  I  had  walked 
into  a  trap  and  was  once  more  under  arrest. 

I  glanced  at  Burski.     "What  does  this  mean?" 

For  answer  he  shrugged  his  shoulders  and  threw 
up  his  hands  as  though  he  was  as  perplexed  as  I. 
"  Simply  the  orders,  that's  all." 


CHAPTER    XXV 

NO.    17,   THE  PLACE  OF  ST.  JOHN 

VT7E  stood  silent  for  perhaps  a  minute  and  I 
*  *      strained  my  ears   for  the   sound  of  voices 
in  the  rooms  near.    Not  so  much  as  a  whisper  was 
to  be  heard. 

Presently  the  stairs  creaked  above,  and  I  saw  a 
woman,  tear-stained  and  troubled-looking,  peering 
cautiously  down  at  us. 

"  What  are  you  doing  there  ?  Come  down,"  said 
Burski,  quickly. 

I  guessed  that  she  was  Volna's  old  nurse,  and 
that  she  had  been  listening  above  stairs.  She  came 
down,  her  eyes  full  of  alarm. 

"  In  which  room  are  they  ?  "  I  asked,  sharply. 

"  The  back "  she  began,  pointing  to  a  door, 

when  Burski  stopped  her. 

"  Silence,"  he  interposed. 

But  I  had  the  information  I  needed  and  sprang 
past  him  and  ran  up  the  stairs.  "  You  must  not  go 
up,  Mr.  Anstruther,"  he  cried, 

"  Why  not  ?  I  am  no  prisoner,"  I  answered ;  and 
before  he  could  prevent  me,  I  had  reached  the  door 
and  entered  the  room,  Burski  at  my  heels,  to  find 
Volna  in  a  condition  of  mingled  defiance  and  dis- 
tress, and  Bremenhof  pacing  the  floor  angrily. 

"  What  is  the  meaning  of  this  ?  "  he  cried. 
262 


NO.  17,  THE  PLACE  OF  ST.  JOHN     263 

"  That  is  exactly  what  I  have  come  to  see,"  said  I. 

Volna  got  up.  '  Is  it  true,  Mr.  Anstruther,  that 
you  sent  this  address  to  Colonel  Bremenhof?" 

"  Should  this  man  remain  to  hear  what  has  to  be 
said  ?  "  I  asked  Bremenhof,  pointing  to  Burski. 

He  found  the  question  an  awkward  one.  Un- 
willing to  let  Burski  overhear  the  conversation  and 
yet  equally  unwilling  to  remain  without  some  pro- 
tection, he  was  at  a  loss  what  to  do. 

"  Take  the  key  of  the  door  with  you,  Burski,  and 
remain  within  call,"  he  said,  after  a  pause. 

I  waited  until  we  three  were  alone  and  then 
answered  Volna's  question.  "  It  is  possible  that 
Colonel  Bremenhof  obtained  the  address  through 
me.  How  did  you  get  it,  sir?  " 

But  Volna  did  not  wait  for  him  to  answer.  "  He 
has  told  me  more  than  once  that  in  consideration 
of  his  allowing  you  to  leave  the  country,  you  be- 
trayed my  address  to  him," 

I  turned  to  Bremenhof.  "  Do  you  repeat  that 
now  in  my  presence?  " 

"  You  have  no  right  to  come  blustering  here,"  he 
said. 

"  Do  you  repeat  that  story  of  my  treachery  now 
in  my  presence?  Come.  Dare  you?  " 

"  Don't  think  to  intimidate  me." 

"  I  thought  you  would  not  dare.  Now,  will  you 
tell  Miss  Drakona  what  really  passed  last  night;  or 
shall  I?" 

"  These  matters  cannot  be  gone  into  now.  You 
must  both  come  to  the  Department  and  the  whole 


264    IN  THE  CAUSE  OF  FREEDOM 

thing  shall  be "  I  put  my  back  against  the  door 

and  he  took  alarm  instantly.  He  broke  off  and  said 
quickly :  "  My  men  are  here." 

"  You  will  not  call  them  yet,  Colonel  Bremen- 
hof,"  I  said  very  deliberately. 

"  Do  you  presume  to  threaten  me  ?  " 

"  This  is  a  personal  matter  between  Miss  Dra- 
kona,  yourself  and  me.  You  have  slandered  me  to 
her,  and  your  official  position  cannot  and  shall  not 
— understand,  shall  not — prevent  your  giving  an 
explanation." 

"  I'll  soon  see  about  that." 

"  Don't  call  your  men.  I  warn  you ;  "  and  I  put 
my  hand  to  my  pocket  as  though  I  had  a  weapon 
concealed.  I  had  none;  but  he  was  not  a  difficult 
person  to  bluff;  and  my  look  was  steady  enough  to 
frighten  him. 

"  Mr.  Anstruther! "  exclaimed  Volna,  in  alarm. 

"  This  matter  must  be  set  straight,  Miss  Dra- 
kona."  My  tone  was  as  firm  to  her  as  it  had  been 
to  him ;  and  this  served  to  complete  his  discomfiture. 
"  Now,  Colonel  Bremenhof,  I  am  waiting." 

He  sat  down  and  was  as  troubled  and  fidgetty  as 
a  schoolboy  waiting  for  a  birching.  His  eyes  were 
everywhere  in  the  room,  his  lips  moved  nervously, 
and  his  fingers  played  with  his  beard.  But  he  said 
nothing. 

"  I  will  help  you  to  start.  You  gave  me  your 
word  last  night  that  Madame  Drakona  should  be 
released  to-day;  that  you  would  place  the  evidence 
against  her  in  my  hands  at  your  house  to-night ;  and 


NO.  17,  THE  PLACE  OF  ST.  JOHN      265 

that  all  charges  against  this  lady  should  be  with- 
drawn. Is  that  true  ?  " 

"  Yes ;  that  is  what  I  have  explained,"  he  mut- 
tered. 

"  The  express  object,  as  I  told  you  plainly,  was 
that  Miss  Drakona. should  be  a  perfectly  free  agent 
to  marry  my  friend  Count  Ladislas  Tuleski  or  not 
as  she  chose." 

"  I  have  said  that  too,  in  effect." 

"  In  effect !  "  cried  Volna  contemptuously. 

"  The  one  condition  you  imposed  was  that  I 
should  leave  the  country,  and  to  that  I  agreed." 

"  That  is  only  your  way  of  putting  it,"  he  said, 
beginning  to  gather  courage  as  the  minutes  passed. 

"  I  wrote  as  much  to  you  this  morning,  Miss 
Drakona,  and  gave  the  letter  to  my  servant,  Felsen, 
to  bring  to  you.  Have  you  received  it  ?  " 

"  Colonel  Bremenhof  has  given  it  to  me,  Mr. 
Anstruther." 

"Turned  letter  carrier,  eh?"  said  I,  drily. 

"  The  explanation  of  my  possession  of  it  is  per- 
fectly simple.  Your  servant  was  arrested  by  one  of 
my  men  this  morning;  and  when  he  was  searched, 
the  letter  was  found  upon  him.  I  deemed  it  best  to 
bring  it  here  myself." 

"  And  to  add  that  I  betrayed  the  address  to 
you?" 

"  Your  man  told  me  that  you  had  instructed  him 
to  bring  it  to  me.  Of  course,  he  may  have  lied. 
But  how  was  I  to  know  that?  " 

His  air  of  blameless  innocence,  as  palpably  false 


266     IN  THE  CAUSE  OF  FREEDOM 

as  his  explanation,  was  laughable ;  but  it  was  my  cue 
at  the  moment  to  accept  both. 

"  There  is  only  one  thing  that  really  matters,"  I 
declared.  "  Are  you  prepared  to  keep  your  word 
to  release  Madame  Drakona,  to  give  up  the  evidence 
against  her,  and  to  certify  officially  that  there  is  no 
charge  against  Miss  Drakona  here?" 

His  start  of  anger  and  the  vicious  look  he  shot 
at  me  showed  that  he  appreciated  the  tight  corner 
in  which  this  put  him.  He  was  hesitating  how  to 
answer,  when  unfortunately  Volna's  indignation 
would  not  be  restrained. 

"  If  you  are  satisfied  with  the  explanation,  Mr. 
Anstruther,  I  am  not.  Colonel  Bremenhof's  charge 
against  you  was  of  deliberate,  not  involuntary  be- 
trayal. That  it  was  part  of  your  pledge  to  him." 

I  raised  my  hand  in  protest;  but  it  was  too  late. 
He  saw  his  chance  and  took  it  at  once  cunningly. 
He  rose  and  said :  "  If  I  am  already  judged,  noth- 
ing more  can  be  done  here.  Burski !  "  he  called  in 
a  loud  ringing  voice. 

I  stepped  from  the  door  and  Burski  and  the  sec- 
ond man  entered. 

"You  called,  Colonel?" 

"  We  are  going  to  the  offices  of  the  Depart- 
ment. Let  the  Englishman  be  searched.  He  has 
a  weapon." 

Burski  drew  his  revolver  and  turned  to  me. 

"  No,  you  are  mistaken.  I  know  what  you 
thought.  See!  "  and  I  turned  my  pocket  inside  out. 
"  I  don't  resist." 


NO.  17,  THE  PLACE  OF  ST.  JOHN      267 

Resistance  being  useless,  it  was  just  as  well  to 
make  a  virtue  of  offering  none. 

"  You  threatened  me,"  said  Bremenhof. 

"  Is  that  the  charge  against  me?  " 

"  The  charge  will  be  explained  in  proper  time," 
he  snapped. 

"  And  I  will  see  that  the  explanation  is  proper, 
too." 

"  Silence !  "  he  cried.  Now  that  his  men  were 
present,  his  natural  instincts  as  an  official  bully 
reasserted  themselves. 

It  was  an  ugly  development  of  the  situation ;  and 
my  chagrin  was  the  more  bitter  because  only  my 
own  blind  self-confidence  had  brought  it  about. 

Volna  blamed  herself,  however,  setting  it  all  down 
to  her  last  angry  interposition.  "  I  am  so  sorry," 
she  said  to  me.  "  This  is  my  fault." 

"  Not  a  bit  of  it.  He  meant  to  do  it  in  any  case. 
You  only  made  it  a  little  easier  for  him  to  show  his 
hand.  The  real  blame  is  mine,  as  I  will  explain 
to  you." 

"  The  explanation  will  have  to  wait,"  sneered 
Bremenhof.  "  You  have  many  other  things  to  ex- 
plain first.  See  that  a  carriage  is  brought,  Burski, 
for  Miss  Drakona  to  go  with  me.  You  will  take 
the  Englishman.  Take  him  away  now." 

Volna  gave  a  cry  of  distress,  and  was  coming 
toward  me  when  Bremenhof  pushed  between  us. 

"  You  must  not  speak  to  the  prisoner,"  he  said, 
bluntly. 

"  Come,  Mr.  Anstruther,"  said  Burski. 


268    IN  THE  CAUSE  OF  FREEDOM 

"  You  need  have  no  fear  on  my  account,  Miss 

Drakona,"  I  assured  her,  as  I  went  out  with  Burski. 

"  What  is  the  reason  for  this  ?  "  he  asked,  as  we 

stood  a  moment  on  the  landing,  after  he  had  sent 

his  companion  for  the  carriage. 

"  It  means  that  for  the  moment  you  have  out- 
played me — for  the  moment,  that's  all." 

"Can  I  help  you?" 

I  looked  at  him  steadily.  "Yes,  by  dropping 
your  pretence." 

"  You  wrong  me,  friend.  I  can  still  help  you  to 
escape.  I  can  get  you  out  of  the  city,  if  you  will." 

"  Colonel  Bremenhof 's  orders,  eh  ?  No,  thank 
you;  not  again.  I  am  just  as  anxious  to  be  a  pris- 
oner now  as  he  is  to  get  me  out  of  the  city." 

"  He  means  mischief  for  you.  I  told  you  last 
night." 

"  You  told  me  many  lies  last  night  and  acted 
others.  And  I  have  had  quite  enough  of  them  and 
of  you.  Now,  go  ahead  and  do  as  he  told  you." 

He  shrugged  his  shoulders.  "  If  you  get  to 
Headquarters  it  will  be  too  late,"  he  said. 

At  that  moment  his  comrade  came  running  up. 
"  If  the  prisoners  are  to  be  taken,  Burski,  you'd 
better  come.  There's  a  crowd  of  the  strikers 
close  by." 

Burski  looked  at  me  sharply. 

I  smiled.    "  May  be  a  bit  awkward  for  you,  eh  ?  " 

We  went  down  to  the  front  door. 

"  Is  the  carriage  there  yet?  "  asked  Burski. 

"Just  driven  up,"  was  the  reply. 


NO.  17,  THE  PLACE  OF  ST.  JOHN      269 

The  clamour  of  a  crowd  outside  reached  our  ears. 
I  put  out  my  hand  to  open  the  door  and  Burski 
stopped  me.  He  was  looking  very  anxious.  "  Call 
the  chief,"  he  said  hurriedly. 

The  man  sprang  up  the  stairs. 

Burski  and  I  were  left  alone. 

The  clamour  outside  increased  and  some  one 
knocked  at  the  door. 

"  Why  don't  you  open  the  door?  If  you  are  in 
earnest  about  helping  me  to  escape,  let  me  call  in  the 
crowd." 

Instead  of  replying  he  drew  his  revolver. 

The  .  knock  was  repeated,  and  a  voice  called : 
"  Burski,  Stragoff,  either  of  you.  Quick,  man, 
quick,  if  you're  coming." 

The  noise  of  the  crowd  was  growing  every  mo- 
ment, and  my  guard's  perplexity  grew  with  it. 

The  door  of  the  room  above  us  was  opened,  and 
Bremenhof  called,  "  Burski,  Burski.  Are  you 
there?" 

Attracted  by  the  call  his  eyes  left  me  a  moment. 
The  next  I  had  his  revolver  hand  in  mine,  and, 
having  the  advantage  of  the  surprise,  wrenched  it 
away  from  him. 

He  called  out,  and  Bremenhof  and  the  second  man 
came  running  down. 

The  noise  without  shewed  that  the  crowd  were 
close  to  the  house.  I  threw  the  door  wide 
open. 

Two  men  were  on  the  doorstep  and  fell  back  at 
the  sight  of  the  weapon  in  my  hand. 


270    IN  THE  CAUSE  OF  FREEDOM 

The  crowd  were  close  at  hand,  streaming  past  the 
corner  of  the  Place  of  St.  John. 

I  fired  two  shots  in  the  air.  At  the  sound  the 
crowd  turned  and  faced  towards  me. 

"  The  police  are  here.  Rescue !  Rescue ! "  I 
shouted  with  all  the  strength  of  my  lungs. 

A  loud  roar  of  angry  shouts  answered  me,  and  a 
number  of  the  men  breaking  from  the  crowd  came 
pouring  toward  the  house. 

The  police  agents  outside  darted  away  like  hares. 

At  the  same  instant  Burski  and  the  others  seized 
me ;  and  after  a  short,  fierce  struggle  I  was  dragged 
back  inside  and  the  door  was  slammed  just  as  the 
first  comers  from  the  mob  reached  the  house. 


CHAPTER    XXVI 

THE  TABLES  TURNED 

/~T"^HE  tables  were  turned  now,  and  as  the  mob 
-••    howled  and  clamoured  and  hammered  at  the 
door,  a  braver  man  than  Bremenhof  might  well  have 
lost  his  nerve. 

He  was  pale,  and  trembled,  partly  with  anger, 
but  more  with  terror,  as  he  stared  at  me  in  doubt 
what  I  would  do  next. 

The  chances  of  the  struggle  had  left  me  nearest 
the  door;  and  as  I  had  retained  possession  of  Bur- 
ski's  revolver,  I  had  command  of  the  situation. 

"  You  won't  let  them  in,"  he  said,  as  the  hammer- 
ing at  the  door  increased  in  violence,  and  the  crowd 
yelled  for  it  to  be  opened.  "  They'll  tear  us  to 
pieces  if  you  do.  For  God's  sake." 

"  You  are  willing  to  keep  your  word  now,  I  sup- 
pose ?  " 

"  Yes,  yes,  in  everything.  Everything,"  he  re- 
plied eagerly. 

Then  Burski,  who  was  as  cool  and  collected  as  his 
chief  was  agitated,  made  a  move  the  purpose  of 
which  I  was  to  see  later.  He  whispered  to  his  com- 
panions, and  Bremenhof  hurried  back  up  the  stair- 
case and  the  other  man  ran  away  to  the  back  of  the 
house. 

271 


272     IN  THE  CAUSE  OF  FREEDOM 

"  Now,  Mr.  Anstruther,  we  must  face  this  out 
together.  What  are  you  going  to  do  ?  " 

Those  outside  were  battering  at  the  door  with  a 
violence  that  threatened  to  break  it  down  every 
moment.  A  heavy  stone  was  hurled  through  the 
small  glass  light  above  it,  and  a  loud  cheer  greeted 
the  smash. 

I  turned  and  threw  the  door  open  and  then  his 
object  was  made  plain. 

As  I  opened  it,  he  sent  up  a  great  shout. 

"  Help !  help !  "  he  called,  in  ringing  stentorian 
tones.  "  Thank  God  you  have  come,  friends.  The 
rest  of  the  cursed  police  have  bolted,  but  I've  kept 
this  one  from  escaping.  My  fellow  prisoners  are 
upstairs." 

It  was  a  clever  ruse;  and  in  an  instant  a  dozen 
hands  shot  out  eagerly  to  grab  me.  I  sprang  back 
and  Burski  tried  to  block  my  retreat;  but  I  thrust 
him  away  and  reached  the  stairs. 

"  Stop.  This  is  a  trick,"  I  shouted.  "  That  is 
the  police  agent.  I  am  an  Englishman.  It  was  I 
who  fired  the  shots  just  now  and  called  for  help." 

A  babel  of  oaths  and  confused  cries  greeted  this; 
and  the  men  in  front  halted  a  moment  in  hesi- 
tation. 

Burski  saw  the  hesitation.  "  He  lies,  like  the 
police  dog  he  is,  to  save  his  skin,"  he  called.  "  Look 
at  the  weapon  in  his  hand.  Some  of  you  will  know 
the  police  pattern." 

A  yell  of  execration  followed  this  cunning  stroke, 
as  the  crowd  threatened  me. 


THE  TABLES  TURNED  273 

"  I  took  it  from  him,"  I  said ;  but  I  was  not 
believed  and  a  rush  was  made  at  me  again. 

To  stop  this  I  backed  up  the  narrow  stairway  and 
levelled  the  weapon  at  them.  Those  in  front  flinched 
and  hung  back  at  the  sight  of  it. 

"  Do  you  want  any  further  proof,"  cried  Burski. 
"  Is  there  any  leader  of  the  Fraternity  here  ?  I  can 
soon  convince  him."  His  cool  audacity  was  won- 
derful. 

A  cry  was  raised  from  someone ;  and  a  pause  fol- 
lowed while  a  new  comer  elbowed  his  way  to  Burski. 
A  shout  greeted  his  coming,  and  all  eyes  were  upon 
the  two  as  they  interchanged  a  few  words  in  low 
tones.  What  passed  I  do  not  know,  probably  some 
secret  sign  was  given;  and  it  sufficed. 

"  This  man  is  one  of  us,"  was  the  verdict ;  and 
at  the  decision  a  deafening  yell  of  rage  and  curses 
broke  out  as  the  mob  turned  to  me  again. 

"  Police  spy.    Liar.    Dog.    Down  with  him !  " 

"Hear  me,"  I  shouted;  but  my  voice  was 
drowned  in  the  curses  of  the  mob. 

Another  rush  was  made  at  me,  to  be  stopped 
again  by  the  levelled  revolver. 

Then  the  new  comer  held  up  his  hand. 

"  If  you  are  a  friend  give  up  your  weapon." 

"  Clear  the  house  of  all  except  yourself  and  one 
or  two  more  and  I  will.  I  can  convince  you." 

"  Do  you  want  to  walk  into  a  police  trap, 
friend  ?  "  asked  Burski,  with  a  sneer.  He  had  the 
crowd  with  him  now  and  they  echoed  the  sneer  with 
a  laugh. 


274    IN  THE  CAUSE  OF  FREEDOM 

But  the  leader  was  a  persistent  fellow  in  his  way. 
"  How  many  are  in  the  house  ?  "  he  asked  Burski. 

The  latter  shrugged  his  shoulders.  "  There  were 
plenty  just  now ;  enough  to  treat  me  pretty  roughly ; 
and  I'm  no  bantling." 

"  There  are  no  police  in  the  house  except  that 
man  and  one  other.  He  knows  that,"  I  declared. 

The  leader  turned  to  the  crowd  and  tried  to  rea- 
son with  them ;  but  it  was  useless.  Not  a  man  would 
leave  the  house.  Some  began  to  murmur  and  growl 
at  him  for  his  interference;  and  the  yells  and  cries 
against  me  redoubled  in  violence. 

Then  for  a  while  things  went  all  wrong  with  me. 
One  of  the  fellows  in  the  hallway  picked  up  a  mat 
and  with  a  raucous  laugh  and  an  oath  flung  it  at 
me.  It  hit  me  full  in  the  face ;  and  a  burst  of  laugh- 
ter and  wild  cheering  hailed  the  shot. 

Before  I  knew  anything  more,  another  man 
rushed  up  the  stairs  and  caught  me  by  the  legs. 
Down  I  went  backwards,  my  weapon  flew  out  of 
my  hand,  and  in  an  instant  I  was  hauled  down  the 
stairs,  feet  first  into  the  seething  mass  of  infuriated 
men ;  grabbed  here,  thrust  there,  beaten,  kicked  and 
hustled  all  ways  at  once,  to  the  accompaniment  of 
such  screeching,  oathing  and  yelling  as  I  hope  I  may 
never  hear  again,  at  least  under  similar  conditions. 

Matters  would  have  been  much  worse  with  me, 
indeed,  but  for  one  stroke  of  luck.  One  of  the 
crowd,  a  grimy,  vile-smelling  creature,  in  his  eager- 
ness to  get  a  kick  at  my  head  fell  asprawl  over  me 
as  I  lay  against  the  wall;  I  grabbed  him  tight  and 


THE  TABLES  TURNED          275 

hung  on  to  him,  using  his  fat  carcass  as  a  shield 
until  his  piercing  screams  for  help  let  his  friends  see 
what  was  happening. 

The  attack  ceased  while  they  dragged  him  free. 
I  managed  to  scramble  to  my  feet  at  the  same  time, 
and  with  my  back  to  the  wall  I  used  my  fists  right 
and  left  upon  the  front  rank  of  hot,  straining,  sweat- 
ing, staring  faces  in  a  desperate  effort  to  win  a  way 
back  to  the  stairs. 

Against  such  numbers  I  could  gain  no  more  than 
a  moment's  respite,  however.  But  it  proved  enough. 

A  revolver  shot  rang  out  from  the  stairway  and 
drew  all  eyes  that  way. 

It  was  Volna. 

Running  from  the  room  above  she  had  seen  my 
pistol  on  the  stairs  and  her  quick  wits  had  suggested 
to  her  the  means  of  stopping  the  tumult.  She  had 
discharged  it  over  the  heads  of  the  crowd  and  had 
thus  gained  a  hearing. 

Her  lovely  face  flushed  and  her  eyes  alight  with 
indignation,  she  used  the  moment  of  astonishment 
to  dash  right  into  the  midst  of  the  crowd  and  reach 
my  side. 

"  Shame,  men,  shame,"  she  cried.  "  Would  you 
tear  your  friends  to  pieces?  I  am  one  of  the  pris- 
oners and  this  is  the  other." 

The  fickleness  of  a  mob  is  a  proverb.  Her  plucky 
act  succeeded  where  all  arguments  and  inducements 
would  have  failed.  The  crowd  swung  over  to  her 
side  and  cheered  her  lustily. 

Burski  was  quick  to  appreciate  the  probable  re- 


2  76    IN  THE  CAUSE  OF  FREEDOM 

suits  to  him;  and  I  saw  him  begin  to  edge  his  way 
to  the  door  to  escape. 

"  Stop  that  man,"  I  called,  pointing  to  him. 

In  an  instant  his  path  was  blocked;  and  I  hoped 
that  he  was  going  to  have  a  taste  of  the  treatment  of 
which  he  had  secured  such  a  full  meal  for  me. 

He  would  have  had  it  surely  enough  but  for  an 
interruption  from  outside. 

The  luck  had  turned  right  in  our  favour.  Three 
or  four  men  shouldered  their  way  into  the  house 
and  in  their  midst  I  saw  my  friend  Ladislas.  He 
was  known  to  many  of  the  crowd,  who  made  way 
for  him  with  a  loud  cheer. 

In  a  few  words  I  made  the  situation  clear  to  him, 
and  added  that  Bremenhof  was  in  the  room  above, 
and  that  if  the  crowd  got  wind  of  it  in  their  present 
temper,  they  would  tear  him  to  pieces. 

He  succeeded  ultimately  in  inducing  the  people 
to  leave  the  house ;  and  putting  Burski  in  charge  of 
three  men,  Ladislas,  Volna  and  I  went  up  to  Brem- 
enhof. 

He  was  in  a  condition  of  desperate  terror  and,  as 
we  entered,  started  up  and  stared  at  us  wide-eyed, 
trembling  and  abject. 

"  You  are  in  no  danger,  Colonel  Bremenhof," 
said  Ladislas.  "  They  shall  take  my  life  before  I 
will  see  you  harmed." 

"  Not  quite  so  fast  as  that,  Ladislas,"  I  declared. 
"  Colonel  Bremenhof  knew  what  his  man,  Burski, 
intended  in  setting  the  crowd  on  me,  and  I  have  a 
reckoning  to  settle." 


THE  TABLES  TURNED  277 

The  hunted  expression  in  his  eyes  which  had  been 
calmed  somewhat  by  my  friend's  words,  returned 
as  he  asked :  "  What  do  you  mean  ?  " 

"  You  shall  know  that  in  a  moment.  First  un- 
derstand that  the  mob  are  still  outside — their  blood 
is  up.  They  have  just  been  cheated  of  one  victim, 
myself,  handed  over  to  them  in  your  stead  by  the 
cunning  of  your  man  and  with  your  connivance.  I 
have  but  to  open  the  door  and  speak  your  name  to 
them:  and  what  they  did  to  me  will  be  a  trifle  to 
what  they'll  do  to  you." 

"  Anstruther !  "  protested  Ladislas. 

"  This  is  my  matter,  man.  Leave  it  to  me,  please. 
If  you'd  been  down  under  that  mob's  feet,  you'd 
feel  as  I  do.  Now  you,"  and  Bremenhof  cowered 
again  as  I  turned  to  him.  "  Listen  to  me.  Even 
when  I  was  in  danger  of  my  life,  I  kept  secret  the 
fact  that  you  were  here  in  the  house ;  and  saved  your 
life.  Out  of  no  regard  for  you,  believe  me;  for  I 
swear  that  if  you  refuse  to  do  exactly  what  I  tell 
you  now,  I  will  drag  you  down  with  my  own  hands 
and  pitch  you  into  the  midst  of  the  rabble." 

"What  do  you  want?" 

"  But  little  more  than  you  promised  me  last  night. 
Madame  Drakona's  release  at  once,  and  the  de- 
livery of  the  evidence  you  hold  against  her,  an 
official  statement  that  there  is  no  charge  of  any 
kind  against  her  daughter  here;  and  a  definite 
written  admission  of  the  part  you  have  taken 
throughout  this.  You'll  play  no  more  tricks 
on  me." 


278     IN  THE  CAUSE  OF  FREEDOM 

"  Yes,  I  agree.  I'll  do  it  the  instant  I  get  to  the 
Department." 

"  Thank  you.  I  know  how  you  keep  such  pledges. 
You  will  write  the  order  for  Madame  Drakona's 
release  here  at  once  and  will  send  it  by  Burski,  your 
trusted  servant,  with  orders  to  conduct  her  to  a 
place  we'll  settle." 

"  But  at  such  a  time  difficulties  may  be  raised 
and " 

"  Yes  or  no,  quick.  As  for  the  difficulties,  you'll 
remain  in  our  hands  until  you  have  found  how  to 
get  over  them.  Burski  was  clever  enough  to  get 
me  into  a  mess  a  few  minutes  since.  Now  you  can 
use  his  cleverness  to  get  you  out  of  one." 

"  Yes.    Let  me  see  him." 

"One  word.  You  are  earning  your  life;  under- 
stand that.  Attempt  any  treachery  and "  I 

left  the  sentence  unfinished. 

"  I'll  do  it,"  he  agreed.   "  Anything.   Anything." 

Volna  fetched  some  writing  materials  and  while 
Bremenhof  wrote  the  order,  I  conferred  with  Lad- 
islas  and  settled  the  details  of  the  plan. 

We  dared  not  stay  longer  in  that  house  because 
the  police  would  soon  be  back  in  great  force  to 
Bremenhof 's  rescue;  and  Ladislas  named  a  place 
to  which  we  could  take  him.  But  we  could  not  have 
Madame  Drakona  brought  to  the  same  place,  be- 
cause Burski  would  in  that  event  take  the  police 
with  her.  We  arranged,  therefore,  that  Madame 
Drakona  should  be  taken  to  her  own  house. 

Moreover,  as  the  kernel  of  everything  was  to 


THE  TABLES  TURNED  279 

prevent  Volna's  arrest,  she  could  not  go  home  to 
receive  her  mother ;  but  that  difficulty  the  telephone 
solved  for  us.  We  settled  to  wait  at  the  place  to 
which  Ladislas  would  take  us  until  a  telephone  mes- 
sage from  the  Drakonas'  house  assured  us  that 
Madame  Drakona  was  there  and  alone. 

When  the  order  was  ready  I  fetched  Burski. 
Bremenhof  gave  him  his  instructions,  and  I  said 
enough  to  convince  them  both  that  Bremenhof's 
safety  depended  entirely  upon  their  keeping  faith 
with  us. 

Ladislas  then  explained  matters  to  the  leaders  of 
the  mob.  The  crowd  had  meanwhile  decreased  in 
numbers,  and  those  who  remained  were  induced  to 
disperse. 

A  carriage  was  fetched  and  we  four  started, 
leaving  Burski  in  charge  of  a  couple  of  the  men  who 
had  come  with  Ladislas,  to  be  dispatched  on  his 
errand  as  soon  as  our  carriage  was  out  of  sight. 

We  had  done  well  so  far;  but  there  was  still 
much  to  do.  A  slight  check  to  the  plans  at  any 
moment  might  mean  the  ruin  of  everything.  If  the 
luck  lasted,  we  should  win,  and  only  complete  suc- 
cess could  justify  the  desperate  move  I  had  taken. 

Would  the  luck  last? 


CHAPTER    XXVII 

THE  PLAN  PROSPERS 

TF  Bremenhof  had  been  less  of  a  coward  such  a 
•*•  plan  as  ours  would  have  been  absolutely  impos- 
sible. But  the  sight  of  the  mob's  fury  had  so  satu- 
rated him  with  fear  that  it  bereft  him  of  the  power 
to  make  even  a  show  at  resistance. 

I  did  my  utmost  to  play  on  that  terror.  During 
the  short  ride,  I  sat  opposite  to  him,  holding  in  full 
sight  the  revolver  which  had  already  done  us  such 
conspicuous  service;  and  when  we  reached  our  des- 
tination I  linked  my  left  arm  in  his  as  I  walked 
him  into  the  house,  taking  care  that  he  should  see  I 
still  held  the  weapon  ready  for  use. 

What  I  should  really  have  done  had  he  made  an 
effort  to  escape  I  don't  know;  but  I  am  sure  I  had 
convinced  him  that  I  should  shoot.  That  fear  of 
me  made  him  my  slave.  He  watched  my  every 
gesture,  started  nervously  when  I  looked  at  him, 
and  flinched  whenever  I  spoke. 

As  soon  as  we  were  in  the  house  I  set  him  to  work 
to  write  the  official  declaration  that  he  had  investi- 
gated the  charges  against  Volna,  and  had  found 
them  unfounded ;  and  then  the  full  statement  of  the 
part  he  had  played  throughout. 

Volna  meanwhile  called  up  the  servant  at  their 
house,  and  having  ascertained  that  no  police  were 

280 


THE  PLAN  PROSPERS  281 

in  possession  there,  told  the  girl  how  to  call  us  up 
the  instant  that  Madame  Drakona  should  reach 
home. 

There  was  nothing  more  to  be  done  but  to  wait 
for  that  message.  I  left  Volna  and  Ladislas  to- 
gether and  remained  with  Bremenhof. 

The  extent  to  which  he  was  subject  to  my  influ- 
ence during  the  hours  in  that  house  was  remarkable. 
To  me  quite  unaccountable  indeed.  He  was  as 
docile  as  though  I  had  possessed  hypnotic  power  and 
had  used  it  to  subdue  him. 

With  the  revolver  always  carefully  in  hand  I  sat 
and  stared  at  him  steadily,  sternly,  continuously  in 
one  long,  tense,  dead  silence.  I  concentrated  all 
my  thoughts  upon  the  one  essential  object,  to  force 
the  conviction  upon  him  that  death  would  be  the 
instant  penalty  of  resistance  to  my  will. 

Twice  only  was  the  silence  broken.  Once  when 
he  showed  me  what  he  had  written  and  I  ordered  an 
alteration;  and  once  at  the  close  when  I  asked  him 
how  he  was  going  to  get  for  me  the  evidence  against 
Madame  Drakona. 

This  was  the  one  thing  in  which  I  could  not  see 
the  way.  I  must  have  it  before  the  spell  of  fear  I 
had  cast  upon  him  was  broken;  and  yet  I  knew, 
from  what  Burski  had  told  me  on  the  previous  night, 
the  difficulties  which  were  in  the  way.  What  Bre- 
menhof said  now  confirmed  this,  and  he  was  so 
panic-saturated  that  I  believed  he  was  past  lying. 
He  professed  himself  as  anxious  as  I  was  to  solve 
the  difficulty. 


282    IN  THE  CAUSE  OF  FREEDOM 

The  problem  was  this.  The  papers  were  in  the 
safe  in  his  library,  and  there  was  a  man  on  guard 
over  it;  Bremenhof  had  the  key  with  him;  and 
he  had  given  the  most  absolute  order  that  no  one 
should  even  enter  the  room  in  his  absence. 

If  I  went  to  the  house  myself  with  the  key  and  a 
written  authority  from  him,  it  was  in  the  highest 
degree  unlikely,  that,  being  unknown,  I  should  be 
allowed  to  get  to  the  safe.  It  was  very  likely  indeed, 
that,  on  such  a  day  of  tumult,  I  should  fall  under 
suspicion,  and  be  promptly  placed  under  arrest. 

Volna  was  known  to  the  servants  and  was  thus 
less  likely  to  fail ;  but  I  was  loath  for  her  to  run  the 
risk.  Burski  might  be  back  at  the  house,  and  he 
knew  enough  of  the  matter  now  to  understand  that 
her  arrest  would  checkmate  our  whole  scheme. 

Bremenhof  protested  that  if  I  would  let  him  go, 
he  would  give  up  the  papers.  "  I  pledge  you  my 
solemn  word  of  honour.  I'll  take  any  oath  you 
please,  do  anything  you  ask." 

"  To  whom  can  you  give  them  ?  " 

"  Come  with  me,  and  I  will  give  them  to 
you." 

"  Thank  you.  I  know  how  you  keep  faith.  I 
won't  walk  open-eyed  in  another  of  your  traps." 

"  I'll  send  them  to  you,  then." 

"  Yes ;  by  a  strong  body  of  police  with  orders  to 
take  me  back  with  them.  I  know  the  risk  I've  run 
now  in  bringing  you  here,  and  have  no  fancy  for  a 
march  across  the  plains.  You  must  find  some  other 
means.  Otherwise  I  shall  hand  you  over  to  the 


THE  PLAN  PROSPERS  283 

strikers  to  be  held  until  we  are  out  of  this  cursed 
country. 

"  For  God's  sake,"  he  cried,  nerve-racked  and 
abject  at  the  thought;  and  after  that  I  resumed  the 
silent  watch  which  he  found  so  trying  an  ordeal. 

After  a  time  Volna  came  in. 

"  My  mother  is  free,  Mr.  Anstruther.  She  is  at 
home;  the  agent,  Burski,  took  her  there  and  no 
police  are  left  in  the  house." 

"  You  see,  I  have  kept  faith,"  said  Bremenhof 
eagerly. 

"  I  see  that  you  couldn't  help  it,  that's  all." 

"  On  my  honour  I  will  do  all  I  have  promised." 

"  When  the  devil's  sick  he  makes  an  earnest 
penitent." 

"  I  renounce  all  claim  to  this  lady's  hand." 

"  What  the  wolf  said  when  he  was  in  the  trap." 

"  My  God,  what  do  you  mean  to  do  then  ?  "  he 
cried,  tossing  up  his  hands. 

"  I  mean  to  have  that  evidence.  I  will  adopt  your 
own  suggestion  and  go  to  your  house  with  you." 

"  Mr.  Anstruther !  "  protested  Volna. 

"  Leave  this  to  me,  please,"  I  said. 

"  I  pledge  my  honour  you  will  run  no  risk,"  de- 
clared Bremenhof. 

Volna's  lip  curled  at  this  mention  of  his  honour. 
"  You  will  not  trust  him  ?  You  cannot.  You  must 
not." 

"  Let  me  speak  to  you,"  I  said.  We  went  outside 
leaving  the  door  ajar  that  I  could  watch  Bremenhof. 
"  I  can  trust  myself  in  this  if  not  him,  Let  your 


284    IN  THE  CAUSE  OF  FREEDOM 

mother  leave  the  house  for  some  place  where  she 
will  be  safe  until  you  can  join  her.  You  must  both 
remain  in  hiding,  prepared  to  leave  the  city  the 
instant  we  can  get  you  away." 

"  But  you "  she  interposed. 

"  Please.  I  shall  come  to  no  great  harm.  We 
have  taken  a  risk  with  Bremenhof  to-day ;  but  with 
the  proofs  against  your  mother  in  our  hands  and 
with  the  papers  he  has  signed  here  to-day,  my  friends 
can  put  up  a  fight  on  my  account  which,  even  if 
he  dares  to  face  it,  will  get  me  out  without  much 
trouble." 

"  You  must  not  run  this  risk,"  she  protested. 

"  I  have  put  the  worst  that  can  happen  even  if 
he  breaks  faith  and  arrests  me;  but  I  have  him  so 
frightened,  I  don't  believe  he  will  dare  to  attempt 
any  tricks.  I  have  a  way  to  keep  him  scared,  too. 
Where  is  Ladislas  ?  I  want  him  to  get  a  sleigh  with 
a  driver  who  can  be  relied  on  in  an  emergency." 

"  I  don't  like  it.  We  have  no  right  to  ask  any- 
thing of  this  kind  of  you." 

"  You  must  do  what  I  ask,  please." 

"  No,  no.  I  would  rather  run  the  risk  of  arrest 
myself." 

"  That  would  do  no  good  now.  He  has  all  this 
against  me  just  the  same." 

"  You  can  leave  the  city.  Besides,  if  I  agree  to 
do  what  he " 

"  We  shall  quarrel  if  you  say  that  again.  And  I 
hope  we  are  too  good  friends  for  that." 

She  placed  her  hand  on  my  arm  and  looked 


THE  PLAN  PROSPERS  285 

earnestly  in  my  eyes.  "  You  don't  know  how  this 
tries  me." 

"  It  is  for  Ladislas'  sake,"  I  said  steadily. 

She  bit  her  lip  and  dropped  her  eyes.  "  I  would 
rather  anything  than  this,"  she  murmured  hesitat- 
ingly. There  was  a  pause  full  of  embarrassment  to 
me ;  then,  rather  to  my  surprise,  she  looked  up  with 
a  smile :  "  I  had  forgotten.  I  agree,"  she  said. 

Her  sudden  change  of  manner  puzzled  me. 

She  saw  my  surprise.  "  You  have  convinced  me, 
that  is  all.  I  had  forgotten." 

"Forgotten  what?" 

"  It  is  never  too  late  to "     She  paused. 

"To  what?" 

"  To  remember  what  I  can  still  do,"  she  replied 
cryptically.  "  I  will  tell  Ladislas  about  the  sleigh." 
And  without  more  she  smiled  again  and  left  me. 

I  returned  to  Bremenhof. 

"  I  have  sent  for  a  sleigh  to  take  us  to  your 
house.  You  have  given  me  your  word  that  I  shall 
be  safe " 

"  I  swear  it,"  he  cried  eagerly. 

"  I  am  going  to  trust  to  it,  but  not  without  tak- 
ing a  precaution  on  my  own  account.  My  liberty 
will  be  in  your  hands  while  I  am  in  your  house ;  and 
you  had  better  know  that  I  would  rather  lose  my 
life  than  be  sent  to  your  cursed  mines  in  Siberia. 
Get  that  clearly  into  your  mind." 

"  I  swear  to  you " 

"  Never  mind  about  any  more  swearing.  You 
know  by  this  time  that  I  mean  what  I  say.  And  I 


286    IN  THE  CAUSE  OF  FREEDOM 

mean  this.  I  know  the  risk  I  have  run  to-day,  and 
rather  than  let  your  men  make  me  a  prisoner  I  will 
blow  my  brains  out.  Unlike  you,  I  am  not  afraid 
of  death.  Mark  this  well,  then.  I  shall  not  die 
alone."  I  paused,  and  added  with  all  the  tense 
fierceness  I  could  put  into  my  tone  and  manner. 
"  If  you  give  me  the  slightest  cause  to  suspect 
treachery,  even  to  suspect  it,  mark  you,  that  instant 
will  be  your  last  in  life.  From  the  moment  we  leave 
this  house  together  to  that  when  I  leave  yours  with 
the  papers  in  my  possession,  I  shall  be  at  your  side, 
this  barrel  against  your  ribs,  and  my  finger  on  the 
trigger.  Try  to  trick  me,  and  by  the  God  that  made 
us  both,  I  swear  I'll  shoot  you  like  a  dog." 

He  gave  a  deep  sigh,  the  sweat  of  fear  clustered 
thick  on  his  grey-white  forehead,  and  he  sank  back 
in  his  chair. 

He  was  so  drunk  with  fear  that  he  was  past 
speech.  He  looked  up  once  or  twice  as  if  to  speak, 
and  his  blanched  lips  moved;  but  the  moment  his 
eyes  met  mine  he  faltered  and  trembled  and  looked 
down,  his  tongue  refusing  to  frame  the  words. 

Presently  Ladislas  came  in. 

"  I  wish  to  speak  to  Colonel  Bremenhof/'  he 
said. 

"  Not  now,  Ladislas,"  I  said.  I  would  not  have 
the  effect  of  my  threat  lessened  by  any  distracting 
thoughts. 

"  I  wish  to  make  him  understand  we  have  done 
all  we  can  to  prevent  violence  in  the  city." 

"  Go  away,  please.    I  have  given  him  all  I  wanta 


THE  PLAN  PROSPERS  287 

him  to  understand  for  the  present.     Let  me  know 
when  we  are  to  start." 

Greatly  wondering,  my  friend  yielded  and  left  us 
alone  again. 

With  intentional  ostentation  I  looked  to  the  load- 
ing of  my  revolver.  Bremenhof  watched  me  fur- 
tively ;  and  each  time  I  looked  up  from  the  task,  he 
shrank  and  drooped  his  head. 

At  last  Ladislas  called  that  the  sleigh  was  wait- 
ing.    "  The  driver  has  his  orders,"  he  whispered. 
"  and  will  bring  you  to  us  afterwards." 
"  Come,"  I  said  to  Bremenhof,  as  I  rose. 
"  You  are  wronging  me,  Mr.   Anstruther,"  he 
stammered,  as  he  got  up  unsteadily. 

"  I  can  apologize  afterwards,"  said  I  drily. 
As  we  were  leaving  the  house  Volna  stood  wait- 
ing for  us,  and  would  have  spoken  to  me;  but  I 
would  not  leave  Bremenhof's  side. 

I  was  wearing  a  long  cloak,  and  as  Bremenhof 
and  I  crossed  the  pavement  to  the  sleigh,  I  pressed 
close  to  him  and  let  him  feel  my  weapon  against  his 

body. 

He  started  and  caught  his  breath  in  fear, 
strain  had  told  on  him.    He  staggered  in  his  walk, 
and  his  face  wore  the  grey  look  of  one  on  the  verge 
of  death. 

So  long  as  I  could  keep  him  in  that  mood  I  was 

safe  enough. 

We  got  into  the  sleigh  in  silence,  and  had  barely 
turned  out  of  the  street  when  a  body  of  troops  came 
in  sight  riding  in  our  direction. 


288     IN  THE  CAUSE  OF  FREEDOM 

"  This  will  test  your  sincerity,"  I  said.  "  As 
well  now  as  later.  Remember  my  oath." 

At  a  sign  from  the  leader  our  driver  drew  to  one 
side  and  pulled  up. 

I  thrust  the  barrel  of  the  pistol  hard  against 
Bremenhof's  side.  The  officer  recognized  him,  and 
with  a  salute  halted  his  men. 

"  We  are  in  a  hurry  and  cannot  delay,"  I  whis- 
pered. 

Bremenhof  returned  the  salute  and  waved  his 
hand  for  the  troops  to  pass. 

The  officer  ordered  his  men  to  make  room  for  the 
sleigh  and  we  dashed  on  at  a  high  speed. 

"  Good,"  I  said,  suppressing  a  sigh  of  relief. 
"  You  have  learnt  your  lesson,  I  see." 


T 


CHAPTER    XXVIII 

FLIGHT 

HE  meeting  with  the  troops  proved  to  be  an 
invaluable  incident. 

There  had  been  a  tense  moment  when  the  ques- 
tion whether  Bremenhof  would  attempt  treachery 
still  hung  in  the  balance.  A  moment  more  thrilling 
than  any  I  had  ever  known  in  my  life. 

With  his  lame  and  craven  submission,  however, 
a  change  seemed  to  come  in  everything.  That  I 
could  compel  him  to  cross  the  city  in  broad  day- 
light when  hundreds  of  his  police  and  soldiers  were 
swarming  everywhere,  and  so  frighten  him  as  to 
prevent  him  raising  an  alarm,  had  seemed  in  antici- 
pation little  more  than  the  merest  forlorn  hope. 

But  when  at  the  first  test  he  had  yielded  abjectly, 
my  confidence  was  so  strengthened  and  my  domina- 
tion over  him  so  confirmed,  that  the  thing  became 
almost  simple  and  commonplace. 

We  met  other  bodies  of  police  and  military  as  we 
dashed  over  the  snow  to  the  merry  peal  of  our 
sleigh  bells,  but  not  once  was  there  even  the  threat 
of  trouble. 

It  was  rather  as  though  we  were  making  a  tour  of 
inspection  together,  jointly  interested  in  the  police 
and  military  preparations  for  coping  with  the  ex- 
cited populace. 

289 


290    IN  THE  CAUSE  OF  FREEDOM 

We  passed  many  evidences  of  the  popular  unrest. 
But  Ladislas  had  apparently  given  the  driver  very 
shrewd  instructions  as  to  his  route,  for  not  once  did 
we  drive  through  a  street  where  any  actual  dis- 
turbance was  in  progress. 

More  than  once  we  saw  conflicts  going  on  between 
the  troops  or  police  and  the  mob.  But  always  from 
a  safe  distance.  More  than  once,  too,  we  passed 
where  trouble  had  broken  out.  Wrecked  houses 
and  workshops  told  of  the  anger  of  the  people,  and 
grim  patches  of  bloodstained  snow  testified  that  the 
troops  were  not  in  the  city  for  nothing. 

Here  and  there  we  passed  strikers  whose  limping 
walk,  bandaged  limbs,  or  bleeding  faces  bore  evi- 
dence of  recent  fighting;  and  we  drove  rapidly  past 
more  than  one  small  group  gathered  pale-faced  and 
sorrowful  about  a  figure  stretched  at  length  on  the 
snow.  These  things  told  their  own  tale. 

Twice  Bremenhof  was  recognized,  and  howls  and 
shouts  and  bitter  curses  were  hurled  at  us.  Once 
we  were  followed,  stones  were  thrown,  and  even  a 
couple  of  shots  fired  after  us;  but  the  swiftness  of 
our  horses  quickly  carried  us  out  of  danger. 

I  could  not  help  speculating  what  the  crowd 
would  have  said  and  done  had  they  known  the 
mission  on  which  we  were  bent,  and  the  grim  cause 
which  had  brought  us  two  together  upon  that 
strange  ride. 

We  reached  his  house  in  safety,  and  as  the  driver 
reined  up  his  panting  horses  I  braced  myself  for  the 
final  trial  of  nerves. 


FLIGHT  291 

"  Remember  my  oath,"  I  whispered,  as  together 
we  mounted  the  steps  side  by  side.     My  fear  was 
that  as  soon  as  he  found  himself  once  more  in  the 
midst  of  his  men,  his  courage  would  return  suffi- 
ciently for  him  to  at  least  put  up  some  show  of  fight. 
Had  he  done  so,  he  must  have  beaten  me.    De- 
spite my  oath  and  all  my  fiercely  spoken  threats,  I 
had  no  intention  of  shooting  him.     It  was  all  just 
bluff  on  my  part;  but  I  had  acted  well  enough  to 
prevent  his  having  any  suspicion  of  this, 
convinced  that  I  was  in  grim,  deadly  earnest,  and 
that  his  life  hung  on  a  thread,  and  he  was  poltroon 
enough  to  buy  it  at  any  cost. 

The  proceedings  in  the  house  were  very  brief. 
He  went  straight  to  the  library  and  sent  the  man 
on  guard  out  of  the  room.    He  was  as  anxious  t 
be  relieved  from  the  menacing  barrel  of  my  revolver 
as  I  was  to  get  the  papers  and  be  off. 

In  silence  he  opened  the  safe  and  after  a  hurne 
search  found  the  papers  and  offered  them  to  me. 
They  made  a  somewhat  bulky  package. 
"  Shew  me,"  I  said. 

He  opened  the  package  and  held  each  while 
ran  my  eye  over  it;  and  then  folded  them  together 
in  the  portfolio  and  handed  it  to  me. 

"  One  thing  more.  A  written  authority  from  you 
to  me  in  open  terms.  Just  write  '  The  bearer  is 
acting  by  my  authority/  signed  and  sealed  offi 

daily." 

Without  hesitation  he  obeyed  and  wrote  what 

wanted. 


292    IN  THE  CAUSE  OF  FREEDOM 

"  You  will  accompany  me  to  the  sleigh,"  I  said, 
as  I  pocketed  the  paper. 

We  left  the  room  together  arm  in  arm  just  as  we 
had  entered  it,  passed  the  men  in  the  hall  and  down 
the  steps  to  the  sleigh. 

Then  I  saw  trouble. 

Some  distance  up  the  street  a  patrol  of  mounted 
police  was  riding  toward  us  at  the  walk,  and  in  an 
instant  I  perceived  the  danger  this  spelt  for  me. 

So  did  Bremenhof.  The  sight  seemed  to  rouse 
his  long  dormant  courage.  He  pushed  me  away 
from  him,  jumped  back,  and  called  in  a  loud  ring- 
ing tone  for  help. 

The  police  came  running  out  from  his  house, 
the  patrol  pricked  up  their  horses;  and  as  I  sprang 
into  the  sleigh,  the  street  seemed  suddenly  alive 
with  men. 

My  driver  knew  his  business,  however.  The 
horses  he  had  were  spirited  and  full  of  blood,  and 
in  a  moment  we  were  rattling  along  at  full  speed, 
the  bells  ringing  and  jingling  furiously,  the  driver 
shouting  lusty  warnings,  and  the  sleigh  jumping 
and  jolting  so  that  I  had  to  grip  tight  to  save  my- 
self from  being  thrown  out. 

The  patrol  pulled  up  to  speak  with  Bremenhof, 
and,  as  we  dashed  round  a  corner,  I  saw  him  mount 
one  of  the  horses  and  come  clattering  after  us,  lead- 
ing the  rest  in  hot  pursuit. 

But  we  had  a  good  start  by  that  time,  and  my 
driver,  guiding  his  team  with  rare  skill  and  judg- 
ment, made  a  dozen  quick  turns  through  short 


FLIGHT  293 

streets.  This  prevented  our  pursuers  from  spurring 
their  animals  to  the  gallop,  kept  them  in  doubt  as  to 
the  direction  we  had  taken,  and  thus  minimized  their 
advantage  of  saddle  over  harness. 

To  that  manoeuvre  was  due  our  success  in  evad- 
ing immediate  capture. 

Doubtful  of  ultimate  success  in  such  a  chase, 
however,  I  proposed  to  the  driver  to  pull  up  and 
let  me  get  away  on  foot. 

"The  Count  is  close  here,"  he  replied,  to  my 
great  surprise ;  and  after  we  had  raced  along  in  this 
fashion  for  some  ten  minutes,  I  saw  Volna  and 
Ladislas  waiting  at  a  corner.  The  driver  pulled  up, 
and  they  jumped  in. 

"  Sergius  was  to  look  for  us  here,"  said  Ladislas, 
in  explanation.    "  What  has  happened  ?  " 
I  told  him  briefly  as  we  continued  the  flight. 
"  We  shall  get  away,"  he  said  confidently.    "  Ser- 
gius knows  his  work.     He  has  not  his  equal  in 
Warsaw,"  and  it  looked  at  that  moment  as  though 
his  confidence  was  well  grounded. 

Volna  was  very  calm,  but  the  glances  she  kept 
casting  behind  bore  witness  to  her  anxiety. 

"I  hope  you  are  right,"  I  replied  to  Ladislas; 
"  but  you  should  not  have  come." 

"  Were  we  likely  to  desert  you,  Mr.  Anstruther? 
asked  Volna. 

"You  could  do  no  good,  and  the  risk  is  t 

great." 

"We  had  to  know  what  happened  to  you. 

could  not  rest." 


294    IN  THE  CAUSE  OF  FREEDOM 

I  understood  then  the  meaning  of  her  former 
words.  It  was  never  too  late  for  her  last  desperate 
sacrifice  should  our  plan  go  wrong.  "  The  risk  is 
too  serious,"  I  repeated. 

It  was  churlish  to  reproach  them  for  an  act  which 
sprang  from  a  chivalrous  regard  for  my  safety; 
but  they  had  made  a  grave  mistake.  They  had 
rendered  my  escape  much  more  difficult. 

Had  I  been  alone  I  could  have  left  the  sleigh  and 
made  off  on  foot.  The  crowd  in  some  of  the  streets 
was  thick  enough  for  me  to  have  lost  myself  among 
them  and  so  to  have  got  away  unnoticed.  But  with 
three  of  us  together  the  case  was  different.  There 
was  nothing  for  it  but  to  remain  in  the  sleigh  and 
trust  to  the  driver's  skill  to  save  us. 

Presently  the  good  fortune  which  had  befriended 
me  changed.  Turning  into  one  of  the  side  streets 
we  found  the  roadway  partially  blocked  by  some 
heavy  drays.  We  had  to  pull  up,  and  moments, 
precious  to  us  beyond  count,  were  lost  as  we  waited 
for  room  to  be  made  for  us  to  squeeze  through. 

The  street  was  a  long  one  without  a  turning,  and 
before  we  reached  the  end  of  it,  Volna,  who  was 
looking  back,  gave  a  cry  of  dismay. 

"  They  are  in  sight,"  she  said ;  and  we  saw  Bre- 
menhof  and  three  or  four  men  spurring  after  us  at 
full  speed. 

Ladislas  called  to  Sergius,  who  lashed  his  horses 
and  redoubled  his  efforts  to  make  up  some  of  the 
time  we  had  lost. 

"  Where  are  we  going  ?  "  I  asked. 


FLIGHT  295 

"  To  Madame  Drakona.  Three  miles  out  on  the 
Smolna  road." 

Sergius  began  his  tactics  of  sharp  turns  again, 
swinging  round  corner  after  corner  at  a  reckless 
speed.  But  beyond  proving  his  great  skill  as  a 
daring  whip,  he  did  little  good. 

Bremenhof  began  to  gain  fast  upon  us,  and  at 
length  came  within  pistol  range. 

He  called  to  us  to  surrender,  and  when  we  paid 
no  heed,  his  men  fired  at  us.  Volna  winced  and 
shrank  at  the  shots ;  but  we  were  not  hit  and  held 
on  grimly. 

It  could  not  last  much  longer,  however;  and  just 
when  things  were  looking  bad  enough  from  behind, 
a  big  dray  heavily  laden  came  lumbering  toward  us, 
blocking  the  whole  street. 

"  We  must  give  it  up,"  said  Ladislas. 
But  Sergius  saw  a  desperate  chance  and  took  it. 
The  heavy  vehicle  was  making  for  a  narrow  side 
street.  To  wait  until  it  had  turned  would  have 
brought  Bremenhof  upon  us,  and  the  leading  horses 
of  the  waggon  were  actually  turning  into  the  side 
street  when  Sergius,  with  wonderful  skill,  and  at 
the  risk  of  all  our  lives,  swung  round  into  the  open- 
ing. Our  horses  and  sleigh  cannoned  against  the 
leaders,  the  sleigh  gave  a  dangerous  lurch,  was 
thrown  on  to  the  one  roller,  all  but  toppled  over, 
and  then  righted.  It  was  touch  and  go ;  but  the  luck 
was  ours,  and  on  we  went. 

We  even  gained  a  little  by  the  mishap,  for  our 
pursuers  being  unable  to  check  their  horses  in  time, 


296    IN  THE  CAUSE  OF  FREEDOM 

were   carried   past   the   street   opening,    while   the 
heavy  dray  blocked  the  road  and  delayed  them. 

But  the  advantage  was  too  slight  to  hold  out  hope 
of  escape. 

"  We  must  leave  the  sleigh  and  take  our  chance 
on  foot,"  I  said. 

Ladislas  called  an  order  to  the  driver,  and  when 
we  had  traversed  half  the  length  of  the  street  and 
Bremenhof  and  his  men  had  just  passed  the  dray, 
Sergius  pulled  his  animals  on  to  their  haunches  at 
the  mouth  of  an  alley,  waited  while  we  jumped  to 
the  ground,  and  then  dashed  away  again  at  the  same 
reckless  speed. 

"  We  can  get  through  here  to  the  street  of  St. 
Gregory,  and  may  find  shelter,"  said  Ladislas,  lead- 
ing the  way  through  the  alley  in  a  last  desperate 
dash  for  freedom. 

Then  again  fortune  did  us  an  ill  turn.  Half  way 
through  the  place  Volna  caught  her  foot  and  fell. 
She  was  up  again  in  a  moment,  but  limped  badly. 
She  had  twisted  her  ankle  in  the  fall. 

Ladislas  and  I  put  each  an  arm  under  hers,  and 
in  this  way  made  such  haste  as  we  could. 

But  the  delay  served  to  bring  our  pursuers  close 
upon  us ;  and  they  came  running  at  top  speed  after 
us,  making  three  yards  to  our  one. 

Again  capture  seemed  inevitable.  Then  recalling 
the  incident  of  earlier  in  the  day  at  the  house  in  the 
Place  of  St.  John,  I  repeated  it. 

I  fired  my  revolver  in  the  air.  "  The  police !  The 
police!  "  I  shouted.  "  A  rescue!  A  rescue!  " 


FLIGHT  297 

It  served  us  in  good  stead.  The  noise  brought 
men  and  women  rushing  in  alarm  and  curiosity 
from  the  houses  on  both  sides  of  the  alley,  while 
many  others  ran  in  from  the  street  beyond.  Seeing 
our  plight  they  cheered  us  and  swarmed  between 
Bremenhof's  party  and  us,  blocking  and  hamper- 
ing them  so  that  we  reached  the  end  in  safety. 

The  outlet  to  the  alley  was  a  narrow  archway. 
Room  was  made  for  us  to  pass,  and  we  gained  the 
street  while  our  pursuers  were  struggling  and  fight- 
ing to  force  their  way  through  after  us. 

But  again  the  respite  seemed  only  to  mock  us. 
We  ran  out  only  to  find  ourselves  on  the  skirts 
of  an  ugly  tumult.  A  short  distance  to  our  left 
down  the  street  of  St.  Gregory,  a  fight  was  in  prog- 
ress between  a  considerable  body  oi  police  and  a 
crowd  of  strikers,  and  just  as  we  emerged  from  the 
alley  the  police  were  getting  the  upper  hand  and 
the  strikers  were  beginning  to  waver. 

Some  one  raised  the  cry  that  a  large  body  of 
police  were  coming  through  the  alley,  and  the 
crowd,  afraid  of  being  caught  between  two  fires, 
gave  way  and  came  streaming  toward  us  followed 
by  the  police. 

At  that  juncture  Bremenhof  and  his  men  suc- 
ceeded in  reaching  the  street  and  joined  the  other 
police  in  a  vigorous  attack  upon  the  crowd. 

The  situation  was  again  critically  perilous  for  us. 


CHAPTER   XXIX 

IN  THE  STREET  OF  ST.  GREGORY 

/"T"*HE  luck  seemed  to  be  dead  against  us.  Volna 
•*•  could  scarcely  put  her  foot  to  the  ground  and, 
although  she  struggled  gamely  to  continue  the  flight, 
Ladislas  and  I  were  all  but  carrying  her. 

The  crowd  went  streaming  past  us  as  we  could 
make  only  the  slowest  progress;  and  as  no  vehicle 
of  any  sort  was  in  sight,  capture  appeared  inevitable. 

Volna  perceived  this  and  begged  us  to  leave  her. 
"  It  will  be  far  better  for  me  to  be  arrested  alone 
than  for  all  three  to  be  taken;  and  you  see  it  is 
hopeless  now  that  the  three  can  escape." 

"  I  am  not  going,"  said  Ladislas. 

"  Mr.  Anstruther,  you  have  the  proofs  that  will 
free  my  mother.  If  you  will  escape  and  destroy 
them,  she  will  be  safe.  Please  go." 

It  was  a  shrewd  plea. 

I  took  out  the  papers  and  held  them  toward 
Ladislas.  "  You  go.  I  can  trust  my  friends  to  get 
me  out  of  any  mess." 

"  No ;  to-day's  business  with  Bremenhof  is  too 
serious  for  that,"  he  answered.  "  Besides,  this  is 
my  affair.  Go,  Robert.  It  is  sheer  madness  for 
you  to  remain.  You  can  do  no  good." 

"  If  my  mother  is  safe,  Mr.  Anstruther,  I  do  not 
298 


THE  STREET  OF  ST.  GREGORY     299 

care.  For  her  sake  as  well  as  your  own,  get  those 
papers  away." 

I  glanced  round  and  saw  Bremenhof  was  fast 
forcing  his  way  to  us  through  the  scattering  crowd. 

"  We  may  get  a  sleigh  or  a  carriage  at  the  end  of 
the  street  there,"  I  said;  and  without  more  ado,  I 
picked  Volna  up  in  my  arms  and  ran  up  the  street 
with  her. 

The  crowd  cheered  us  lustily.  Someone  recog- 
nized Ladislas,  rallied  the  flying  crowd  and  suc- 
ceeded in  reforming  them  again  when  we  had 
passed. 

Perceiving  this,  and  recognizing  that  we  might 
in  this  way  escape  even  at  the  last  moment,  Bre- 
menhof, hoping  to  awe  the  crowd,  ordered  the  police 
to  draw  their  revolvers.  At  first  the  people  fell 
back,  but  encouraged  by  the  cries  of  the  man  who 
had  constituted  himself  the  leader  they  formed 
again,  and  answered  the  order  to  clear  the  way  with 
yells  and  shouts  of  defiance. 

Losing  his  head  Bremenhof  told  his  men  to  fire. 
A  ragged  volley  of  pistol  shots  followed  and  two 
men  fell  wounded. 

For  an  instant  a  solemn  hush  fell ;  and  then  rose 
such  a  wild  fierce  yell  of  rage  and  fury  from  the  mob 
that  the  police  drew  back  in  suspense. 

The  two  parties  stood  facing  one  another  for  a 
breathing  space.  Then  some  one  threw  a  heavy 
stone  and  struck  one  of  the  police  in  the  face.  Two 
of  his  comrades  near  him  fired  in  return.  A  volley 
of  stones  was  hurled  by  the  crowd,  and  a  wild  and 


300    IN  THE  CAUSE  OF  FREEDOM 

desperate  conflict  was  waged  over  the  bodies  of  the 
fallen  men. 

People  came  running  to  the  scene  from  all  direc- 
tions. Many  of  them  were  armed  with  clubs, 
hatchets,  crowbars,  and  such  weapons  as  could  be 
snatched  up  in  a  hurry.  Some  carried  revolvers; 
and,  as  we  stood  awhile,  unable  for  the  press  of  the 
people  to  get  forward,  a  fierce  hand-to-hand  fight 
was  waged.  Hard  blows  were  given  on  either  side, 
shots  were  exchanged,  and  blood  flowed  freely,  until 
the  police  were  beaten  back  in  their  turn  and  had 
to  fly. 

The  mob  whooped  and  yelled  and  halloed  sav- 
agely over  their  victory,  and  pressed  forward  hot 
and  eager  to  wreak  their  anger  upon  the  flying  men. 

The  triumph  was  short-lived,  however.  Into  the 
street  from  the  end  for  which  we  were  making 
swung  a  large  force  of  troops  to  the  rescue  of  the 
police. 

I  drew  Volna  back  into  the  doorway  of  a  house 
as  they  passed  at  the  double;  and  the  fight  broke 
out  again  this  time  with  the  advantage  all  against 
the  strikers. 

Men  fell  fast,  and  the  crowd  scattered  and  made 
for  cover  in  the  houses  on  either  side  of  the  street. 

Escape  for  us  was  now  impossible  for  the  time, 
for  the  fight  raged  close  to  the  door  of  the  house 
where  we  had  sheltered. 

In  the  thick  of  the  fight  at  some  distance  from  us, 
I  could  see  Bremenhof.  If  he  had  been  a  coward 
while  we  two  had  been  alone  and  he  believed  death 


THE  STREET  OF  ST.  GREGORY     301 

to  be  close  to  him,  he  was  no  coward  now.  He  was 
not  like  the  same  man.  Passion,  or  the  company 
of  his  men,  gave  him  courage.  He  was  everywhere, 
directing  his  men  and  exposing  himself  fearlessly 
where  the  fighting  was  hottest ;  and  always  seeking 
to  press  forward  as  though  in  pursuit  of  us. 

Fresh  tactics  were  next  adopted  by  the  crowd. 
Men  who  had  fled  from  the  street  appeared  at  the 
open  windows  of  the  houses  and  fired  on  the  police 
and  troops  from  this  vantage.  Many  shots  told; 
and  to  save  themselves  from  this  form  of  attack,  the 
troops  began  to  enter  the  houses  in  their  turn  and 
search  for  the  armed  men. 

And  all  this  time  the  press  and  throng  of  police 
and  strikers  made  escape  for  us  impossible. 

After  a  time  the  training  of  the  troops  and  police 
told;  the  crowds  in  the  streets  lessened;  many 
prisoners  were  taken,  most  of  them  bloodstained 
with  marks  of  the  conflict ;  and  the  noise  of  the  con- 
flict began  to  die  down.  But  not  for  long. 

The  news  that  fighting  was  in  progress  had  spread 
far  and  wide,  and  a  body  of  strikers  who  had  been 
parading  the  main  street  near  were  attracted  to  the 
scene. 

The  police  in  their  turn  found  themselves  caught 
between  two  hostile  mobs;  and  the  flame  of  fight 
which  had  almost  flickered  down  flared  up  again 
more  luridly  and  vigorously  than  ever. 

The  prisoners  were  torn  from  the  grasp  of  their 
captors  in  the  moment  of  surprise,  and  hurried  past 
us  to  the  rear  of  the  fighters. 


302    IN  THE  CAUSE  OF  FREEDOM 

The  troops  were  still  strong  enough,  however, 
to  make  the  fight  even;  and  after  the  first  moment 
of  surprise,  their  discipline  told.  They  formed  in 
lines  facing  up  and  down  the  street,  and  settled 
down  with  grim  resolve  for  the  deadly  work  before 
them. 

Then  came  a  loud  cry  of  "  A  barricade !  A 
barricade !  " 

In  little  more  than  a  minute  a  couple  of  heavy 
waggons  were  trundled  out  from  a  side  street,  and 
turned  over  close  to  where  we  three  were  waiting. 
Out  from  the  houses  were  fetched  a  heterogene- 
ous collection  of  furniture — bedsteads,  mattresses, 
couches,  chests  of  drawers,  shop  counters,  chairs, 
tables,  anything  and  everything  that  lay  to  hand 
was  seized  and  brought  out.  Some  were  even  hurled 
from  windows  above.  And  behind  the  impromptu 
rampart  armed  men  crouched  mad  with  long  pent 
passion,  and  eager  to  wreak  vengeance  upon  their 
enemies. 

Meanwhile  Ladislas  had  viewed  the  scene  with 
fast  mounting  distress  and  agitation.  The  deliber- 
ateness  of  these  last  preparations  for  the  fight  seemed 
to  appal  him.  The  sight  of  this  harvest  of  violence 
sprung  from  the  seeds  of  his  own  revolutionary 
theorizing  wrung  his  heart.  Dreaming  of  victory 
by  peaceful  means,  the  horror  of  this  bloodshed  and 
carnage  goaded  him  to  despair.  His  suffering  was 
acute. 

Heedless  of  his  own  safety  he  rushed  hither  and 
thither  among  those  who  were  leading  the  mob,  dis- 


THE  STREET  OF  ST.  GREGORY     303 

suading  them  from  violence  and  urging  them  to 
abandon  their  resistance. 

Half  a  dozen  times  when  he  had  dashed  out  to 
press  his  plea  of  non-resistance,  I  had  had  almost  to 
drag  him  back  into  safety. 

The  lull  that  came  when  the  barricade  was  form- 
ing gave  him  a  fresh  opportunity.  In  vain  I  told  him 
that  nothing  could   stay   the  fight  now  that  the 
smouldering  wrath  of  years  of  wrong  had  flamed 
into  the  mad  fury  of  the  moment,  and  when  the 
wild  passions  of  both  sides  had  been  roused. 
Volna  joined  her  voice  to  mine  and  urged  him. 
But  in  his  frenzy  of  emotional  remorse,  he  paid 
no  heed  to  us.    "  Don't  you  see  that  all  this  horror 
is  the  result  of  what  I  in  my  blindness  have  been 
doing?  "  he  cried.    "  The  thought  of  it  is  torment 
and  the  sight  of  it  hell.    Would  you  have  me  skulk 
here  to  save  my  skin  when  an  effort  now  may  stop 
further  bloodshed?" 

With  that  he  rushed  out. 

He  went  first  among  the  strikers,  and  we  saw  him 
advising,  arguing,  urging,  pleading,  commanding 
in  turn  with  no  effect.  Those  whom  he  addressed 
listened  to  him  at  first  with  a  measure  of  patience 
but  afterwards  with  shrugs,  sullen  looks,  intolerant 
gestures,  and  at  last  with  stubborn,  angry  resent- 
ment at  his  interference,  or  jeers  and  flouts  accord- 
ing to  their  humour. 

And  all  this  time  the  preparations  were  not  stayec 
a  second  but  hurried  forward  with  feverish  haste 
and  vengeful  lust  of  fight. 


304     IN  THE  CAUSE  OF  FREEDOM 

At  length,  I  saw  him  thrust  aside  roughly,  almost 
savagely,  by  one  burly  fellow  who  had  been  building 
the  barricade  and  now  stood  gripping  a  heavy  iron 
crowbar  and  wiping  the  sweat  from  his  brow. 

This  act  served  as  a  cue  for  the  rest.  Ladislas 
was  passed  from  hand  to  hand,  and  pushed  with 
jibes  and  oaths,  from  the  centre  of  the  barricade  to 
the  pavement. 

For  an  instant  he  tried  a  last  appeal  to  the  men 
about  him;  but  their  only  reply  was  a  jeering  laugh, 
half  contemptuous,  half  angry,  but  wholly  indiffer- 
ent to  every  word  he  uttered. 

Just  then  a  loud  command  from  the  officer  in 
charge  of  the  troops  was  given  and  the  soldiers  ad- 
vanced a  few  paces  and  levelled  their  guns. 

In  a  moment  Ladislas  had  climbed  over  the  bar- 
ricade and  rushed  forward  into  the  space  between 
the  troops  and  the  mob.  He  ran  forward  with  up- 
lifted hand. 

"  For  the  love  of  God,  peace,"  he  cried  to  the 
officer,  his  voice  clear  and  strong  above  the  din. 
"  No  more  blood  must  be  shed." 

For  an  instant  a  silence  fell  upon  both  sides,  and 
all  eyes  were  fixed  upon  him. 

The  next,  a  single  shot  was  fired  from  among  the 
ranks  of  the  troops. 

Ladislas'  uplifted  hand  dropped.  He  staggered, 
and  turned  toward  the  mob,  so  that  all  saw  by  the 
red  mark  on  his  white,  broad  forehead  where  the 
bullet  had  struck  him,  and  fell  huddled  up  on  the 
road. 


THE  STREET  OF  ST.  GREGORY     305 

It  was  the  signal  for  the  fight  to  break  loose.  A 
wild,  deep  groan  of  execration  leapt  from  every 
throat  behind  the  barricade,  followed  by  shouts  and 
cries  of  defiance.  His  fall  at  the  hands  of  the  troops 
had  raised  him  to  the  place  of  martyr;  and  those 
who  had  been  quick  to  jeer  him  now  shrieked  and 
yelled  for  vengeance  upon  his  murderers. 

Surely  an  irony  of  fate  that  he  who  had  given  his 
life  in  the  cause  of  peace  should  by  his  death  have 
loosed  the  wildest  passion  for  blood. 

A  ghastly  scene  followed.  As  the  soldiers  charged 
the  barricade,  the  mob  offered  a  stubborn  and  des- 
perate resistance.  Many  of  them  were  shot  down, 
but  there  were  others  ready  to  take  their  places. 
Time  after  time  the  troops  reached  and  mounted  the 
barricade  only  to  be  driven  back.  Once  they  car- 
ried it,  and  commenced  to  charge  the  crowd  behind ; 
but  they  were  outnumbered  many  times,  and  the 
mob  beat  them,  and  hurled  them  back  and  pursued 
them  even  across  the  barricade,  inflicting  serious 

loss. 

I  seized  that  moment  to  run  out  and  recover  the 
body  of  my  poor  friend.  I  found  him ;  and  as  I  was 
carrying  him  out  of  the  press  of  the  tumult,  the 
troops  rallied,  and  the  tide  of  the  fight  came  surging 
back  past  me. 

The  chances  of  the  struggle  brought  Bremenhof 
close  up.  He  saw  me,  and  with  a  cry  of  anger 
rushed  to  seize  me. 

Some  of  the  mob  had  seen  my  effort  to  get  Ladis- 
las  away.  One  of  them  had  stayed  to  help  and  he 


3o6    IN  THE  CAUSE  OF  FREEDOM 

was  thus  close  at  hand  when  the  attempt  was  made 
to  capture  me.  Thinking  that  the  intention  was  to 
prevent  my  carrying  Ladislas  away,  he  pressed  for- 
ward and  with  a  savage  oath  thrust  his  revolver 
right  in  Bremenhof's  face  and  fired. 

This  act  proved  the  turning  point  in  the  fight. 

Fierce  shouts  of  exultation  went  up  as  Bremenhof 
was  recognized.  The  strikers  halted,  rallied  and 
reformed,  and  they  renewed  the  attack  upon  the 
troops  with  irresistible  vigour  and  drove  them  back 
helter-skelter  in  all  directions. 

The  mob  had  won;  but  at  a  cost  which  had  yet 
to  be  counted.  Nor  did  they  stay  to  count  it.  The 
street  resounded  with  whoops  and  yells  of  victory. 
Flushed  and  sweated  with  their  exertions,  the  men 
were  like  children  in  their  delight.  They  shook 
hands  one  with  another,  and  laughed  and  sang  and 
shouted  and  even  danced  in  sheer  glee. 

They  had  beaten  the  troops;  had  sent  them 
scurrying  like  frightened  hares  to  cover;  they  had 
carried  the  cause  of  the  people  to  triumph ;  they  had 
spilt  the  blood  of  the  oppressor;  and  the  taste  of  it 
made  them  drunk  with  the  joy  of  the  new  found 
power  and  strength. 

Some  one  started  the  Polish  national  air.  The 
strain  was  caught  up  and  echoed  by  a  thousand  deep- 
toned,  tuneful  voices  with  an  impression  to  be  re- 
membered to  one's  dying  hour. 

A  crowd  came  round  me  as  I  stood  by  the  two 
dead  bodies. 


THE  STREET  OF  ST.  GREGORY     307 

Bremenhof's  corpse  was  kicked  and  cursed  and 
spat  upon,  till  I  sickened  at  the  sight. 

Ladislas  was  lifted  and  borne  away,  with  the  care 
and  honour  due  to  a  martyr,  to  the  strains  of  the 
national  air.  The  revolution  had  begun  in  terrible 
earnestness;  and  that  day's  fight  was  its  baptism  of 

blood. 

As  the  men  bore  Ladislas  away,  I  went  back  to 
Volna  to  tell  her  the  grim  news  and  get  her  away, 
to  a  place  of  safety. 


CHAPTER    XXX 

AFTER  THE  STORM 

'TT^HE  death  of  Colonel  Bremenhof  caused  a  pro- 
•*•  found  sensation ;  and  the  most  varied  and  con- 
tradictory reports  were  circulated  about  it. 

The  authorities  branded  it  assassination,  and 
threatened  the  most  rigorous  punishment  of  those 
whom  they  deemed  the  murderers. 

The  members  of  the  Fraternity  were  charged  with 
responsibility  for  it ;  and  were  declared  to  have  laid 
a  deep  and  far-reaching  plot  to  destroy  him  as  one 
of  the  chief  executive  leaders  of  the  government. 

The  strikers  were  jubilant  over  the  event.  He 
had  fallen  in  fair  fight,  they  alleged,  when  leading 
the  police  and  soldiers  to  attack  peaceful  citizens; 
and  his  death  was  hailed  as  triumph  and  encour- 
agement to  their  cause. 

In  fact  almost  every  conceivable  reason  was  given 
— except  the  truth. 

There  were  a  few  who  looked  a  little  deeper  for 
the  cause ;  and  among  these  was  my  old  friend  Gen- 
eral von  Eckerstein. 

Three  days  after  the  outbreak  of  the  riots  I  called 
to  bid  him  good-bye,  and  I  found  him  deeply  im- 
pressed and  full  of  interested  speculation  about  the 
matter. 

"  What  beats  me,  Bob,  is  what  business  he  had 
308 


AFTER  THE  STORM  309 

to  get  into  the  thick  of  a  street  fight,"  he  said.    "  He 
must  have  been  mad.    From  what  I  have  heard,  his 
whole  conduct  that  day  was  more  than  eccentric." 
"  Wasn't  it  his  duty,  then  ?  "  I  asked  casually. 
"  Duty?    What!    To  go  out  and  fight  the  mob? 
What  do  you  suppose  the  ordinary  police  and  sol- 
diers are  for?  " 

"  He  must  have  had  some  private  motive  then." 
He  turned  on  me  like  a  flash.     "  What  do  you 
mean?    Do  you  know  anything?  " 
"  No,  nothing  officially." 

"  Good  Heavens !  where  have  you  been  the  last 
few  days;  since  you  were  here?  " 

"  I  told  you  just  now  that  I  returned  to  the  city 
this  midday,  to  see  the  last  of  my  poor  friend  Lad- 
islas.  He  was  buried  about  the  same  time  as  Bre- 
menhof.  Ladislas'  funeral  was  not  nearly  so  impos- 
ing a  ceremony,  but  there  was  vastly  more  genuine 

grief." 

"  Oh,  nobody  liked  Bremenhof  as  a  man ;  but  that 
so  high  an  official  should  have  fallen  in  such  a  way! 
But  you — where  were  you  on  Monday?  " 

"  I  stayed  at  the  Vladimir  on  Sunday  night  and 
left  Warsaw  on  Monday  evening." 

"  And  all  that  day?  "  he  asked  with  a  very  sharp 

look. 

"  Oh,  I  was  moving  about  in  different  parts  of 

the  city." 

"Did  you  see  that  fight   in  the  street  of 

Gregory?" 

"  Yes,  amongst  other  things." 


3io    IN  THE  CAUSE  OF  FREEDOM 

"  Do  you  mean  you  know  what  took  Bremenhof 
there?" 

I  nodded.  "  He  was  after  me  as  a  matter  of  fact. 
It's  a  pretty  bad  tangle,  but  if  you  haven't  got  your 
official  ears  open,  I'll  tell  you."  I  told  him  enough 
to  make  the  matter  clear. 

"  And  after  that  you  dare  to  shew  your  face  in 
Warsaw  ?  Are  you  mad,  boy  ?  " 

"  There  is  no  daring  about  it  because  there's  no 
risk.  There  was  only  one  man  who  knew  me  in 
the  affair — the  police  spy,  Burski;  and  he  has  his 
own,  right  enough.  He  was  playing  spy  at  a  meet- 
ing of  the  strikers  on  Tuesday  night ;  and  one  of  the 
men  who  was  in  the  house  at  the  place  of  St.  John 
recognized  him.  He  was  a  fellow  of  resource  and 
iron  nerve,  and  tried  to  brazen  it  out  that  he  was  a 
Fraternity  man.  But  he  failed." 

"You  mean?" 

"  They  lynched  him  then  and  there." 

"  The  infernal  villains !  " 

"  If  it  comes  to  that  Bremenhof,  who  was  buried 
to-day  with  full  military  honours,  wasn't  much  to 
boast  of." 

"  If  you're  going  to  turn  revolutionary  you'd 
better  get  out  of  the  city  and  be  off  home.  Luck 
like  yours  won't  last,  boy." 

"  I'm  going.  I've  done  nothing  except  checkmate 
a  scoundrel.  Given  the  same  circumstances,  I'd 
try  it  again." 

He  looked  at  me  with  a  half  whimsical  smile. 
"Where  is  she,  Bob?" 


AFTER  THE  STORM  311 

"  Not  so  far  from  Warsaw  as  I  hope  she  soon 
.will  be,  General." 

"  You  got  her  out  of  the  city  then?  " 

"  Oh,  yes,  without  much  difficulty.  When  the 
crowd  got  the  upper  hand  in  the  street  fight  it  was 
easy  for  us  to  get  away.  I  drove  with  her  to  the 
place  where  Madame  Drakona  had  been  sent.  Then 
I  hurried  to  the  Vladimir  and  put  on  the  police 
uniform  which  Burski  had  brought  me.  That, 
coupled  with  the  special  authority  I  got  out  of 
Bremenhof  and  helped  by  a  blunt  discourteous 
official  manner,  made  things  easy.  I  could  have 
taken  a  train  load  of  women  out  of  Warsaw.  Two 
were  a  mere  detail." 

"  Do  you  understand  the  fearful  risk  you've 
run?" 

"  One  doesn't  always  stop  to  consider  that. 
Things  have  to  be  done  and  one  does  them  first 
and  thinks  afterwards.  Besides,  I  had  a  good 
object." 

"What  do  you  mean?"  He  asked  this  very 
curtly. 

I  smiled.    "  It  was  in  the  cause  of  freedom." 

"  In  the  cause  of  fiddlesticks.  What's  Poland's 
freedom  to  you,  that  you  should  risk  your  life  for 
it?" 

"  Nothing." 

He  started  and  his  eyes  brightened  meaningly. 
"  Oh,  I  see.  The  freedom  of  the  girl,  eh  ? 

"  Isn't  it  a  good  enough  cause  for  me  ?  " 

"  I  suppose  you  think  so,"  he  said  drily.    "  Are 


3i2     IN  THE  CAUSE  OF  FREEDOM 

you  in  a  fit  state  now  to  take  an  old  diplomat's 
advice  ?  " 

"  Yes ;  if  I  agree  with  it,  of  course." 

"  Oh,  of  course.  Well,  it's  this.  Get  out  of  War- 
saw and  out  of  Russia,  and  stay  out." 

"  Haven't  I  come  to  bid  you  good-bye  ?  Give 
me  credit  for  something.  I'm  going  by  the  next 
train." 

"Where?" 

I  laughed.  "  I  like  the  rural  districts  of  Poland. 
I'm  going  first  to  Solden.  Do  you  know  the  neigh- 
bourhood ?  " 

"  Solden?  What  in  the  name  of oh,  is  she 

there?" 

I  nodded.  "  At  Kervatje,  a  few  miles'  drive  from 
there." 

"  But  the  police  of  Solden  know  you  both.  They 
brought  you  here." 

"  There  is  nothing  against  either  of  us  now. 
Bremenhof's  death  has  made  all  the  difference.  The 
evidence  against  Madame  Drakona  has  been  de- 
stroyed, and  the  charge  against  her  daughter  was 
never  made  officially.  There's  no  one  now  to 
make  it." 

"  Arrests  are  being  made  wholesale,  boy,  with 
or  without  charges,  in  consequence  of  his  death. 
Where  are  the  brother  and  sister?" 

"  I  don't  know,  and  I  daren't  make  any  in- 
guiries." 

"Oh,  there  is  something  you  daren't  do,  then? 


AFTER  THE  STORM  313 

I  don't  like  the  thing,  Bob,  and  that's  the  truth. 
Look  here,  I'm  going  through  to  Berlin  to-morrow ; 
stay  here  till  then  and  travel  with  me.  I  shall 
know  you're  out  of  mischief  then." 

"  I  should  like  it  but— well,  the  fact  is,  you  see, 
I  shan't  be  travelling  alone." 

He  laughed  drily.    "  As  bad  as  that,  eh?  " 

"  Yes,  if  you  call  it  bad.    I  don't." 

"Are  your  papers  in  order?    Your  passports?" 

I  shook  my  head.     "  My  own  is,  but  not  the 

rest." 

"  How  do  you  want  it  worded?  "  he  asked  with 

another  grin. 

"  Oh,  the  usual  way,  whatever  that  is,"  I  said  a 

little  sheepishly. 

"  Robert  Anstruther  and " 

"  Laugh  away.    Can  you  help  me?  " 

"  Give  it  me.     Even  I  don't  know  how  a  man 

carries  his  mother-in-law  on  his  own  passport." 
"  It  is  a  bit  awkward ;  but  I  don't  want  a  hitch 

now." 

"  Look  here,  boy.  I'll  stretch  a  point  for  you. 
I'll  go  by  way  of  Cracow  and  will  pick  you  up  at 
Solden  to-morrow.  I'm  travelling  special,  and  you 
shall  all  go  through  in  my  saloon ; "  and  scarcely 
waiting  to  listen  to  my  thanks  he  hurried  me  off 
to  the  station,  sending  his  secretary  with  me  to 
make  sure  that  no  difficulties  were  raised  about  my 
departure. 

At  Solden  I  found  Volna  in  a  sleigh  waiting  for 


IN  THE  CAUSE  OF  FREEDOM 

me.  Her  face  lighted  and  she  welcomed  me  with 
a  glad  smile. 

"  You  wonder  to  see  me ;  but  I  was  so  anxious  I 
could  not  stay  at  Kervatje." 

"  I  have  very  little  news." 

"  Do  you  think  it  was  only  the  news  ?. " 

"What  else?" 

"Bob!" 

"  You're  getting  quite  pat  with  that  name,  now." 

"  Peggy  had  to  learn  it,  you  see." 

"And  Volna?" 

"  Volna  felt  like  rushing  off  to  Warsaw  when 
that  train  was  so  late,"  she  replied  earnestly. 

"  I  like  that  answer ;  but  there  was  no  cause  for 
anxiety,  I'm  glad  to  say.  Our  troubles  are  over. 
To-morrow  afternoon  we  shall  be  in  Cracow." 

"  I  had  a  brother  once  who  used  to  say  that,"  she 
said,  with  a  laugh  and  a  glance. 

"  Are  you  sorry  you've  lost  him  ?  " 

She  answered  by  slipping  her  hand  into  my  arm 
and  nestling  a  little  closer  to  me.  We  sat  for  a  time 
in  the  sympathetic  silence  of  mutual  happiness  and 
perfect  understanding,  listening  to  the  rhythmic 
music  of  the  sleigh  bells  as  the  three  horses  glided 
rapidly  over  the  snow. 

Then  I  told  her  of  my  old  friend's  promise  to  see 
us  safely  to  Cracow  in  his  saloon. 

"  Will  there  be  any  one  else  there  ?  " 

"  I  don't  know.    Some  of  his  staff,  perhaps." 

"  It  will  be  a  little  trying,"  she  said,  with  a  show 
of  dismay. 


AFTER  THE  STORM  315 

"  Why?  " 

"  As  if  you  didn't  know.  Think  of  the  ordeal  for 
me." 

"  You've  faced  much  worse  things  bravely 
enough.  Besides,  you  won't  be  alone :  You'll  have 
your " 

"  Bob ! "  she  interposed  quickly,  with  a  lovely 
blush. 

"Your  mother  with  you.     Mayn't  I  say  that?" 

"  You  were  not  going  to  say  that." 

"  What  was  I  going  to  say  ?  " 

"  Volna  has  all  Peggy's  instincts,  remember." 

"  Well,  I  challenge  you  to  say  what  you  think  I 
meant." 

"  I'm  not  in  a  fighting  mood  to  accept  chal- 
lenges." 

"  I  dare  you  to  say  it,  then." 

"  Don't  be  a  coward,  Bob." 

"  I'll  say  it  then.    You'll  have  your " 

"  Bob." 

"  It's  quite  true.  If  you  keep  your  promise  of 
two  days  ago,  and  Father  Ambrose  does  his  duty 
to-morrow.  I  shall  be " 

"  There's  the  way  to  Cracow ;  do  you  recognize 
it?"  she  cried  quickly,  as  we  reached  the  forked 
roads  of  which  Father  Ambrose  had  told  us. 

"  That's  the  way  a  brother  and  sister  went;  but 
this  one  to-morrow  a  man  and  his " 

"How  lucky  we  were  not  to  have  the  snow  that 
time,  weren't  we  ?  "  she  broke  in  again. 

"  That  wasn't  the  real  luck  in  my  eyes.    My  luck 


316    IN  THE  CAUSE  OF  FREEDOM 

was  when  I  lost  my  sister  and  found  in  her  place 
my "       . 

She  held  up  her  hand,  laughing  and  blushing 
yividly.  "  If  you  do,  I'll " 

"  Then  I'll  wait  until  Father  Ambrose  has  said 
it." 

"I  shan't  mind  then.  Oh,  Bob,  won't  it  be 
lovely !  "  and  she  laughed  and  squeezed  my  arm, 
and  pressed  her  head  against  my  shoulder. 

All  of  which  no  doubt  sounds  very  much  like 
foolishness.  It  goes  to  shew  that  we  were  very 
young  of  course,  very  really  in  love,  and  very  happy 
after  our  strenuous  time.  As  happy  indeed  as  any 
two  young  people  could  wish  to  be  who  were  to  be 
made  man  and  wife  within  a  few  hours.  In  those 
hours  a  deal  of  happiness  is  just  so  much  foolish- 
ness. 

In  one  thing  Volna  was  wrong.  It  was  no  ordeal 
that  awaited  her  on  the  journey  with  the  General  to 
Cracow. 

At  her  first  glance  he  fell  before  her;  and  by  the 
time  we  reached  Cracow  he  was  almost  as  much  in 
love  with  her  as  I  was. 

During  the  journey  he  shewed  such  tact,  too.  He 
devoted  most  of  his  time  to  Volna's  mother;  and 
having  told  her  he  had  learnt  that  Katinka  and  Paul 
had  left  Warsaw  and  gone  to  Vienna,  he  kept  her 
talking  most  of  the  time  in  one  corner  of  the  saloon, 
while  Volna  and  I  were  alone  in  another. 

When  we  parted  at  Cracow  he  took  Volna's  two 
hands  and  pressed  them,  and  smiled  as  he  said 


AFTER  THE  STORM  317 

tenderly,  and  very  earnestly :  "  I  can  understand 
Bob  now  that  I've  seen  you.  You  were  just  made 
to  be  loved  as  I  know  he  loves  you,  my  dear." 

And  to  me,  drawing  me  aside :  "  I  told  you  yes- 
terday your  luck  wouldn't  last,  boy.  I  take  that 
back.  I  pray  God  it  may ;  and  that  you  may  always 
be  worthy  of  it.  Good-bye,  boy." 


THE  END 


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